Despite his book's encouraging title, Bishop
who won a Nobel Prize in Physiology and Medicine in 1989
cautions that I have not written an instruction manual for pursuit of the prize. Instead, he has written an amiable reflection on the experience of being a Nobelist, intertwined with some history and anecdotes about the award, and balanced by a wide-ranging review ... Read moreof his own career as an accidental scientist ...Along the way, Bishop reflects on the history of our knowledge of microbes, cancer, the politics of funding research and present-day disenchantment with science. His main purpose in writing this book, Bishop says, is to show that scientists are supremely human
which he does with grace and charm. Publishers Weekly 20030418 How to Win the Nobel Prize is typical Bishop: modest, funny, insightful and offering an extremely clear and brief explanation of the basic scientific achievement that won the 1989 Nobel Prize in physiology or medicine for himself and longtime colleague, Harold Varmus, now president of the Memorial Sloan-Kettering Cancer Center.
David Perlman San Francisco Chronicle 20030907 In these pages Bishop reveals himself as a good writer blessed with enviable clarity, someone sensible and levelheaded who likes people and is enamored of his science.
John Tyler Bonner New York Times Book Review 20031019 At its heart this analysis of science and the scientific world is a jewel. How to Win the Nobel Prize is an inspirational book, full of careful analysis and judgement.
John Oxford Times Higher Education Supplement 20040220 Bishop is a gifted communicator and teacher, and he sets about his task of educating scientists and the public by describing his career in science and science politics...In the end, Bishop's book provides a road map for scientists and the public to build a robust scientific community that serves our society well.
Andreas Trumpp and Daniel Kalman Nature Cell Biology 20040301 This book is a highly readable compilation of narratives by an erudite and eloquent biomedical scientist, Michael Bishop...This biographical sketch is replete with wise advice to young scientists (the importance of luck, timing patronage, resolve, and risk-taking)-and also very insightful about alternative routes to scientific discovery.
Mel Greaves Journal of the History of Medicine Show Less