Behring won the first Nobel Prize in medicine for his work on serum therapy against diphtheria. Eventually this work would be overshadowed by the development of antibiotics, but his contributions to the methods of testing, standardizing and regulating drugs remain. Linton (history, Hobart and William Smith Colleges) places Behring within his context, that of Imperial German and its strong scientific culture. He traces Behring's collaborations with leading researchers of his day and the startling discoveries they made, many of which still drive practices in pharmacology. Linton follows Behring through his shift from immunology to serum therapy, his research on tuberculosis, hypersensitivity, diphtheria immunization, and tetanus. He closes with reprints of 13 of Behring's most important articles and a bibliography of his scientific work. Annotation 2006 Book News, Inc., Portland, OR (booknews.com)
