Book Review: Immunity by William E. Paul, MD

One of the hottest topics in the life science field is the immune system.  Treatment modalities from vaccines to antibiotics to cancer immunotherapy have been developed from centuries of study of this complex subject.

We found the book Immunity by the late William E. Paul, MD to be a useful primer for general readers looking to familiarize themselves with the immune system.  Practitioners seeking to brush up on immunity’s latest research developments will also find Immunity worthwhile.

Dr. Paul, who was the chief of the Laboratory of Immunology at the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases of the National Institutes of Health, is an authority on the topic.  By presenting the three laws of the human immune system – universality, tolerance, and appropriateness – he provides a comprehensive blend of science, history, and autobiography.

Perhaps most interesting to us were Paul’s useful futuristic suppositions about new immunological technologies and research frontiers.  These include the use harnessing the immune system for cancer therapy, epigenetics, genetic engineering and the like.

Much of this work relates to medical devices in areas such as designing miniature implantables that are be ignored by the immune system (e.g. less scarring), developments in diagnostic tools such as immunodiagnostics, real-time immune system imaging that helps in efficient disease management and so forth.

We like and recommend this book.