Martin Goodman

Suffer and Survive

The name Haldane is well known is scientific circles. J.S. might not be quite as well known as his son J.B.S. but he still has plenty of claims to fame. In Suffer and Survive: The Extreme Life of J. S. Haldane Martin Goodman tells his story.

J.S.Haldane's main work concerned respiration and the effects of toxic gases. Hovever, he wasn't the sort of person to hide himself away in the lab -the book starts with an account of Haldane going to the scene of a mining disaster, to find out whether the deaths were caused by poisonous gases. And he wasn't above testing the effects of such gases on himself - he even had a special chamber in his house where he could spend several hours breathing them in. He was also involved in devising protection from gas attacks in the First World War, and in looking at the problems faced by mountaineers in rarefied air.

My one criticism of the book would be that Haldane came over as too perfect. Clearly he was highly opinionated, and sometimes his opinion turned out wrong, but I felt that Goodman glossed over these occasions. But if you keep that in mind then you'll find it a very readable book, which tells the reader about important -and practical - scientific work done by a man who is possibly less well known than he should be.

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Hardcover 422 pages
ISBN: 0743285972
Salesrank: 2417601
Weight:1.15 lbs

Published: 2007 Simon & Schuster

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Paperback 432 pages
ISBN: 1416522301
Salesrank: 182820
Weight:0.71 lbs

Published: 2008 Pocket Books

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Paperback 432 pages
ISBN: 1416522301
Salesrank: 1246917
Weight:0.71 lbs

Published: 2009 Simon & Schuster UK

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Product Description
John Scott Haldane (1860-1936) was one of the greatest and most colourful of British scientists, acknowledged as the leading physiologist of the era at a time when physiology and much of medical science was coming into its own. The most successful serial self-experimenter in the history of science, Haldane crawled through the carnage of underground explosions, locked himself in sealed chambers, breathed in lethal cocktails of gases, sampled his own blood, burned and healed his own flesh, and experimented on his own children, in an obsessional push to understand the nature of human respiration. What is expired air? How can you make coalmines safer? What does carbon monoxide do to people? These are just some of the vital questions to which Haldane provided the answers, saving thousands of lives in the process. He also designed the first space-suit and invented the gas-mask, among many other innovations and contributions we still benefit from today. Entertaining and enlightening in equal measure, Martin Goodman's lively and revealing biography casts new light on one of the greatest eccentrics of British scientific and intellectual life.

Product Description

John Scott Haldane (1860-1936) was one of the greatest and most colourful of British scientists, acknowledged as the leading physiologist of the era at a time when physiology and much of medical science was coming into its own. The most successful serial self-experimenter in the history of science, Haldane crawled through the carnage of underground explosions, locked himself in sealed chambers, breathed in lethal cocktails of gases, sampled his own blood, burned and healed his own flesh, and experimented on his own children, in an obsessional push to understand the nature of human respiration. What is expired air? How can you make coalmines safer? What does carbon monoxide do to people? These are just some of the vital questions to which Haldane provided the answers, saving thousands of lives in the process. He also designed the first space-suit and invented the gas-mask, among many other innovations and contributions we still benefit from today. Entertaining and enlightening in equal measure, Martin Goodman's lively and revealing biography casts new light on one of the greatest eccentrics of British scientific and intellectual life.

canary in the mine *****
Why have we waited so long for a biography of JS Haldane? He was an intrepid investigator of mine disasters during the late Victorian period, and his work not only saved lives, but advanced knowledge of the way our bodies work. He pinpointed the way in which carbon monoxide acts as such a virulent poison, by combining with haemoglobin of the blood much more actively than oxygen, so depriving the body of its vital support. It was he who introduced the canary as an indicator of the deadly gas, simply because the small bird reacts so much more quickly that it gives warning of a problem in the air (mice were just as good). Haldane also warned of the problem of breathing silica dust, leading to the disease of silicosis, which killed many miners and quarry workers. His research was ground breaking, and life saving. Indeed, it was said of him that he had saved more lives than the rest of the medical profession put together. He received little recognition from his academic peers, except towards the end of his long life, but much recognition from the miners. His methods of research, usually using himself as a guinea pig for experimentation remain an inspiration to all medical researchers. Martin Goodman should be praised for his excellent book on the life of John Haldane, both for describing his scientific achievements and his vibrant personal life.

canary in the mine *****

Why have we waited so long for a biography of JS Haldane? He was an intrepid investigator of mine disasters during the late Victorian period, and his work not only saved lives, but advanced knowledge of the way our bodies work. He pinpointed the way in which carbon monoxide acts as such a virulent poison, by combining with haemoglobin of the blood much more actively than oxygen, so depriving the body of its vital support. It was he who introduced the canary as an indicator of the deadly gas, simply because the small bird reacts so much more quickly that it gives warning of a problem in the air (mice were just as good). Haldane also warned of the problem of breathing silica dust, leading to the disease of silicosis, which killed many miners and quarry workers. His research was ground breaking, and life saving. Indeed, it was said of him that he had saved more lives than the rest of the medical profession put together. He received little recognition from his academic peers, except towards the end of his long life, but much recognition from the miners. His methods of research, usually using himself as a guinea pig for experimentation remain an inspiration to all medical researchers. Martin Goodman should be praised for his excellent book on the life of John Haldane, both for describing his scientific achievements and his vibrant personal life.

The canary *****
Why have we waited so long for a biography of Haldane? He was an intrepid investigator of mine disasters during the late Victorian period, and his work not only saved lives, but advanced knowledge of the way our bodies work. He pinpointed the way in which carbon monoxide acts as such a virulent poison, by combining with haemoglobin of the blood much more actively than oxygen, so depriving the body of its vital support. It was he who introduced the canary as an indicator of the deadly gas, simply because the small bird reacts so much more quickly that it gives warning of a problem in the air. Haldane also warned of the problem of breathing silica dust, leading to the disease of silicosis, which killed many miners and quarry workers. His research was ground breaking, and life saving. Indeed, it was said of him that he had saved more lives than the rest of the medical profession put together. He received little recognition from his academic peers, except towards the end of his long life, but much recognition from the miners. His methods of research, usually using himself as a guinea pig for experimentation remain an inspiration to all medical researchers. Martin Goodman should be praised for his excellent book on the life of John Haldane, both for describing his scientific achievements and his vibrant personal life.

The canary *****

Why have we waited so long for a biography of Haldane? He was an intrepid investigator of mine disasters during the late Victorian period, and his work not only saved lives, but advanced knowledge of the way our bodies work. He pinpointed the way in which carbon monoxide acts as such a virulent poison, by combining with haemoglobin of the blood much more actively than oxygen, so depriving the body of its vital support. It was he who introduced the canary as an indicator of the deadly gas, simply because the small bird reacts so much more quickly that it gives warning of a problem in the air. Haldane also warned of the problem of breathing silica dust, leading to the disease of silicosis, which killed many miners and quarry workers. His research was ground breaking, and life saving. Indeed, it was said of him that he had saved more lives than the rest of the medical profession put together. He received little recognition from his academic peers, except towards the end of his long life, but much recognition from the miners. His methods of research, usually using himself as a guinea pig for experimentation remain an inspiration to all medical researchers. Martin Goodman should be praised for his excellent book on the life of John Haldane, both for describing his scientific achievements and his vibrant personal life.

An excellent read! *****
This is a great read, from the dramatic scene at the start with Haldane racing on the train to Wales to do autopsies on miners in a disaster, all the way through. The science is clear and made part of the tale, the whole thing told with a novelist's eye for detail--the Edwardian era came alive for me. Haldane was someone I wanted to be with, and his life one that enriched my own. I can barely imagine how Goodman pulled together the infinity of detail from primary sources in a couple of years. A real tour de force--and I hope Haldane becomes one of Britain's great men. One biography moved Brunell from obscurity to fame, and Haldane and Goodman deserve the same result from this book.

An excellent read! *****

This is a great read, from the dramatic scene at the start with Haldane racing on the train to Wales to do autopsies on miners in a disaster, all the way through. The science is clear and made part of the tale, the whole thing told with a novelist's eye for detail--the Edwardian era came alive for me. Haldane was someone I wanted to be with, and his life one that enriched my own. I can barely imagine how Goodman pulled together the infinity of detail from primary sources in a couple of years. A real tour de force--and I hope Haldane becomes one of Britain's great men. One biography moved Brunell from obscurity to fame, and Haldane and Goodman deserve the same result from this book.