Inventing the NIH : federal biomedical research policy, 1887-1937 /

This is the story of the long legislative effort to implement a program of federal biomedical research. Federal support for medical research began modestly in 1887, with spending increases following advocates' demonstrations of the pragmatic benefits of applied medical study (bouts of contagious diseases, epidemics, and wars spurred the funding of public health). Yet, a public large-scale research center, free to allocate funds for pure as well as applied medical science, was an uphill political battle. The author, a historian for the National Institutes of Health, describes in painstaking detail the legislative maneuverings to win approval of the NIH. She concludes with a description of the difficult first seven years, when during the depression NIH leaders overcame congressional reluctance to win funding for basic research. We can credit these pioneers' prescience and perseverence for the current 11 institutes of the NIH, whose esteemed staff of doctors and scientists continue at the leading edge in redressing the major diseases of mankind. But today new federal budgetary constraints challenge programs of basic research, risking the clear benefits derived from free scientific inquiry. Unfortunately, this important story reads too much like a doctoral dissertation, its excessive detail blurring its thesis. It will not easily capture the attention of most undergraduate students.-J.P. Brickman, United States Merchant Marine Academy