Scientists Greater Than Einstein: The Biggest Lifesavers of the Twentieth Century

by Billy Woodward, Joel Shurkin, Debra Gordon

""Scientists Greater than Einstein"" tells the stories of ten scientists whose discoveries have had an amazing impact on humanity. Combined, these ten scientists have saved more than 1.6 billion lives--and yet, most remain unknown and unheralded. For instance: Do you know about the eye doctor who in the 1970s figured out how to save millions of children with a nickel's worth of medicine? How about the man from the dusty fields of Mexico who has saved hundreds of millions of people from dying of starvation and malnutrition? Everyone knows about Jonas Salk and his polio vaccine. Do you know whose discovery made Salk's vaccine possible and who created the measles vaccine that has saved many more lives than the polio vaccine? Much of the world's population is alive today due to these ten scientists and no one knows their names. Scientists Greater than Einstein will correct this oversight.

Genres: Nonfiction, History, Science

368 pages, Hardcover

First published December 1, 2008

Reviews

[Nick Peti · Rating 4 out of 5]

Good read, interesting anecdotes but the conclusions that some of the great scientists were the one person who saved all those lives (or were solely responsible for their discoveries) in some cases more than others is a bit of a stretch.

Good read though.

[Elizabeth AcesoUnderGlass · Rating 3 out of 5]

This book isn't aiming for overwhelming accuracy but succeeds at it's actual goal of filling me with warm fuzzy feelings about what humans can

[Neel Nanda · Rating 4 out of 5]

Highly recommended, one of the most wholesome and uplifting books I've read all year.

Woodward's key point is that society does not allocate glory as it should, and does not celebrate those who have truly done the most good, and I am embarrassed by how true that felt. I had never even heard of half of these scientists, let alone known the story behind what they'd achieved. And I'm glad this book gave me a chance to rectify that.

The book feels well paced, each chapter is a short, whirlwind tour of the life of a scientist, their discovery, and the significance. I feel very satisfied with the level of detail, and rarely felt bored.

A warning: This is not a book to give a fair and balanced overview of the scientist and their life. The tone is clearly editorialised, and glorifies their achievements. Personally, given what they've achieved, I enjoyed this tone! But I imagine this might annoy some

[Bre · Rating 4 out of 5]

The abbreviated histories of 10 scientists and their discoveries that led to them becoming the 10 scientists to save the most lives in the last century. Each chapter focuses on one scientist, his life and his contribution to the human race.

The last chapter the author talks about utilizing a scientific perspective as a society to allocate funds. It was one of the most tolerable "political debates" I've read this year, due to the fact-based nature of said scientific perspective.

[Lori · Rating 4 out of 5]

A great collection of forgotten scientists. Science, like any other proprietary type of field, especially where there is a lot of monetary and/or recognition gain to be had, is cut-throat and dirty. Betrayal, plagiarism, and pure overlooking belittles the efforts of these great people. It was nice to read about them and give credit where credit is due and recognition where it needs to be.