Professor Emeritus of biology at Haverford College. He has published many articles on the causes of infectious disease in both plants and animals, as well as on the history of disease theory.
Vast is our knowledge of germs and how they cause disease. And yet, our wisdom is likely to be neither complete nor entirely accurate. To turn to the past as our guide for the steps and missteps that have brought us to the present state of knowledge, I cannot think of a better proctor than Santer's book. No mere accounting of the history of ideas, this is a reasoned and highly accessible accounting of thoughts that have led us to where we are now, and will be of great help in attempting to think about the future. * Dr. Moselio Schaechter, Distinguished Professor Emeritus, Tufts University School of Medicine * Professor Santer is both a lifelong biologist and an expert historian, and he leads us through the history of disease theory from Homer and the ancients up to the present century. Santer has a long history of experimental work himself, and we are in the hands of an expert. This is certainly significant, original, and fortunately, nicely written. * Dr. Sidney Axinn, Professor Emeritus of Philosophy, Temple University *