Peter Bretscher: 2 books

The mainstream view of the immune system is concerned with molecular and cellular details resulting in a picture of immense complexity. Many immunologists live with this complexity, hoping that a series of breakthroughs will eventually add up to a greater insight. However, the forest is ignored for the...

In The Foundations of Immunology and their Pertinence to Medicine, Peter Bretscher describes how the few foundational concepts of immunology came about. He traces Jenner’s development of safe vaccination against small pox in the 1700’s, and how it led to the recognition of infectious disease by Koch...