An excellent job of orientation for the general public has been done in this volume, one of the Humanizing Science Series. The book, representing a revision of an earlier publication, "The Microbe's Challenge," tells the story of preventive medicine from its earliest days, when Koch, Pasteur, Lister and other pioneers fought what must have seemed at times a hopeless battle to break away from ignorant beliefs and superstitions, down to development of modern concepts and practices.
Difficult as it is to come to a full stop or make any final statements regarding preventive measures in the rapidly shifting battleground of medicine today, Eberson almost without exception has given an accurate report on advances by science. The possible future is portrayed conservatively but with full appreciation of the many difficulties still remaining. As he states in his conclusion, "And now we are again at the Gate of Resistance opened by Louis