BeÌchamp or Pasteur? A Lost Chapter in the History of Biology

june
Published on Mar 10, 2021
Author - ETHEL DOUGLAS HUME
A Note from the Publisher:
This volume contains new editions of two books which have been available only sporadically in the decades since their publication.
R. Pearsonâ€™s Pasteur: Plagiarist, Imposter was originally published in 1942, and is a succinct introduction to both Louis Pasteur and Antoine BeÌchamp, and the reasons behind the troubled relationship that they shared for their entire working lives.
Whereas Pearsonâ€™s work is a valuable introduction to an often complex topic, it is Ethel Douglas Humeâ€™s expansive and well- documented BeÌchamp or Pasteur? A Lost Chapter in the History of Biology which provides the main body of evidence. It covers the main points of contention between BeÌchamp and Pasteur in depth sufficient to satisfy any degree of scientific or historical scrutiny, and it contains, wherever possible, detailed references to the source material and supporting evidence. Virtually no claim in Ms Humeâ€™s book is undocumented â€“ to have access to more material, one would need to be able to read French, and go to the original source material.
The reader will soon discern that neither Mr Pearson nor Ms Hume could ever be called fans of Pasteur or his â€˜scienceâ€™. They both declare their intentions openly; that they wish to contribute to the undoing of a massive medical and scientific fraud. The publication of this present edition of their work is undertaken with complete empathy for that intention.
The text of both books has been comprehensively re-edited â€“ for style more than content â€“ the intention being to make for easier reading than the style of language used in the first half of the twentieth century would otherwise allow. I hope that the end result is an improvement, and that the authors would approve. I think they would.
I intend to publish in due course a collection of modern writings on BeÌchamp and pleomorphism. Any researchers who wish to be involved in such a project by contributing material or otherwise can make contact via the web site at www.bechamp.org.
David Major dminoz@bechamp.org November 2006