Description
Book SynopsisThis book captures that heady, fleeting moment when a biologist could expect to do great science through the private sector and be rewarded with both wealth and scientific acclaim.
Trade ReviewBiologist and science historian Nicolas Rasmussen delicately unravels the tangled fibres of discovery, entrepreneurship and lab life in the first decades of genetic engineering... An engaging, ultimately elegiac tale of lost innocence, as researchers struggle with the angel of the search for truth on one shoulder, and the devil of wealth and fame on the other. -- Nathaniel Comfort Nature This provides an engrossing blend of technical survey and business history reconmmended for science and business collections alike! Midwest Book Review An engaging, informative work appropriate for general readers and beginning students of molecular biology or biotechnology. Choice Gene Jockeys deftly conveys a sense of the excitement and technical challenges of this time when free-wheeling scientists pursued their passions in newly evolving commercial settings. -- Jonathan Khan Journal of American History Scholars generally should appreciate Rasmussen's careful research and the wide sweep of source material that he references in extensive notes. -- Sally Smith Hughes Social History of Medicine Rasmussen achieves admirably what he sets out to accomplish... Gene Jockeys will be the go-to source on the history of the biotech industry for some time to come, and particularly regarding the scientific and legal developments on which that industry's growth rested. -- Elizabeth Popp Berman American Historical Review Rasmussen's book deserves to be read by business historians, historians of science, journalists, and anyone who wants to better understand the early days of genetic engineering through the days of investor hype to the absorption of small biotech experiments by much greater entities. Studies in History and Philosophy of Science Overall, Gene Jockeys is an impressive book that brings together many known, but scattered, narratives with a new frame of reference... Any scholars interested in the history of early biotechnology will find Gene Jockeys essential reading. Journal of the History of Biology It should be emphasized that although Gene Jockeys productively complements other historical accounts of biotech, the book also stands on its own quite well. Rasmussen's account owes much of its usefulness to his creativity and care in supporting his claims by drawing from the scientific literature, oral histories, and especially legal documents. Isis .. Any one interested in the history of modern biotech and the attitudes that shaped it will find valuable insights. The Biologist
Table of ContentsAcknowledgments
Introduction: Biology's Day at the Races
1. Biology, Industry, and the Cold War
2. The Insulin Trophy
3. Growing Pains: Commercial Strains on a Way of Life
4. The Interferon Derby: Markets in Credit, Tournaments of Value
5. Epo: The Making of the Biotech Blockbuster
6. tPA: The End of the Beginning
Conclusion: Science, Business, and Medicine in the First Age of Biotech
Cited Sources
Notes
Glossary of Technical Terms
Index
