Dr. Lewis Rowland, distinguished neurologist, author, editor and teacher, has been a major leader in the extraordinary growth and development of Neurology from an arcane specialty to the explosive field of neuroscience over the past fifty years...Now, with the arrival of his latest book, The Legacy of Tracy J. Putnam and H. Houston Merritt: Modern Neurology in the Unjtied States, readers interested in the history of Neurology will welcome Dr. Rowland's insights into these two icons of 20th Century neurosurgery and neurology. Having spent the major years of his career at Columbia University Medical School, Dr. Rowland is uniquely qualified to tell this story. Readers will appreciate his lucid style and his analysis of these events and the individuals who led the way. * Robert A. Fishman MD, Department of Neurology, University of California, San Francisco, CA *
The Legacy of Tracy J. Putnam and H. Houston Merritt: Modern Neurology in the United States is a delight to read and will be both exciting and informative to neurologists, psychiatrists, and all with an interest in the history of neuroscience in the 20th century In so eloquently telling this story, "Bud" Rowland, one of Merritt's successors as Chair of Neurology at Columbia's Neurologic Institute, has documented much of the history of modern neurology and neuroscience. * John M. Freeman MD, Professor of Neurology and Pediatrics (emeritus), Johns Hopkins Medical Institutions, Baltimore, MD *
The author tells the story beautifully, drawing contrasts between the two remarkable people who collaborated in the basic science component of the discovery and the clinical evaluation needed to bring Dilantin to the clinic. In telling this story, the author also describes vividly the early days in the evolution of neurology and psychiatry in the United States, including many tales regarding the leaders in both fields of the time. Easy to read, the book provides a lively narrative that will be comprehensible and compelling to both the lay public and the clinician or scientist. * Sid Gilman MD FRCP, William J. Herdman Distinguished University Professor of Neurology, Director, Michigan Alzheimer's, Disease Research Center, Department of Neurology, University of Michigan, Ann Arbor, MI *
Lewis Rowland is one of the premier neurologists of the second half of the 20th century. In the 21st century he has added to his accomplishments by becoming a premier medical historian. In his current book The Legacy of Tracy J. Putnam and H. Houston Merritt: Modern Neurology in the United States, Rowland captures the essence of these two giants and describes how neurology evolved as a powerful science based clinical discipline not only at Columbia, and at Harvard, but throughout the United States. The book is a must read for anyone interested in understanding how individuals influence the history of events in science and in medicine. * Eric R. Kandel, MD, Nobel Laureate, Professor of Physiology & Cellular Biophysics, Biochemistry & Molecular Biophysics, and Psychiatry, Columbia University Medical Center, New York, NY and author of In Search of Memory: The Emergence of a New Science of Mind *
