Harold Varmus

This was a very disappointing experience. First, Varmus goes in my opinion too fast through his early days from medical student to postdoctoral fellow in Pastan's lab. Second, one of the most interesting aspects of Varmus career is his collaboration with M. Bishop. He delays describing why they separated but it is obvious that there were other issues not mentioned here. The relationship between mentor-student is a difficult one and more insight will be of importance. At least Varmus mentions it. Bishop did not in his own biography a few years back. Finally, the experience at the NIH is too superficial and focused on not very important details such as how long it took to get confirmed. It would have been interesting to learn about Clinton and Gore etc...Finally there is no mention about his years at MSKCC.
In summary, this book is really too politically correct and superficial. It is a shame because Dr. Varmus is a great leader in his field… (más)

Varmus takes the reader on a tour of his career which has meandered from starting off studying literature and transitioning to medicine and then researching cancer biology (oncology) and ultimately into the realm of science/medicine policy as a government official and director of a well respected cancer center. His early forays into literature serve him well as a communicator of science sitting at the interface between research and policy. This interface and the skills necessary are increasingly crucial as the general public ironically demands and consumes science information and news while American students perform relatively poorly on the world stage in science and math. Varmus provides an inside story to another side of the science world, that of science policy and science politics, one that is rarely seen aside from a few controversial examples such as dealing with climate change, evolution, and stem cell research.

While clearly this is a man with intellect, societal value and a capacity for communication of complex ideas in a simple format, it is at times a bit self indulgent. It is recommended for those particularly interested in either cancer biology, the inner workings of a large government agency, the interface between science, policy, and society, or some combination thereof. But similar to his life, it meanders across topics, so if you are looking for a book solely devoted to any one of those, you may find yourself skipping around to pertinent sections. Fortunately, Varmus has conveniently labeled his chapters with helpful and informative sub-sections to help navigate and guide the reader through his life to the particular areas of interest to the reader.… (más)