'An important contribution, The Beginnings will stir up discussion of the meaningfulness of the process and of the prizes themselves as used to measure national prowess in research.' ISIS '... one of the first sustained scholarly efforts to put the Nobel Prizes into better perspective.' American Scientist 'Elisabeth Crawford writes ... with skill and much scholarship. She spent five years researching and writing this book. Her analysis is minute, and the wealth of detail she has managed to unearth concerning the state of science, and its institutions, in Scandinavia at the turn of the century is quite remarkable.' New Scientist