Around Christmas of 1882, while peering through a microscope at starfish larvae in which he had inserted tiny thorns, Russian zoologist Elie Metchnikoff had a brilliant insight: what if the mobile cells he saw gathering around the thorns were the same as white blood cells that traveled to the site of an injury or infection in a human or other animal? Was this some form of cellular defense? Metchnikoff’s theory of immunity, that phagocytes—white blood cells—formed the first line of defense against invading bacteria would eventually earn the scientist the unofficial moniker “Father of Natural Immunity” and a Nobel Prize. But first, he had to convince his colleagues, including the skeptical Robert Koch. Author Luba Vikhanski chronicles Metchnikoff’s remarkable life, work, and discoveries in Immunity, the first modern biography of this hero of medicine. Metchnikoff was a towering figure in the scientific community of the early 20th century, a tireless humanitarian who worked to curb cholera, syphilis, and other  diseases, and pioneered research into probiotics and gerontology. Though Metchnikoff is largely forgotten today, Vikhanski makes a compelling case that his work on natural immunity is finally receiving the attention it deserves.

"A portrait that captures not only the man, but also the end-of-the-19th century dynamism that fostered revolutions in art, politics, and science." —Kirkus Reviews

“Elie Metchnikoff was one of the most remarkable scientists of the turn of the twentieth century, . . . an immunologist ahead of his time, and also, in some ways, very much behind it. In Luba Vikhanski he has finally found a biographer who brings his gripping story to life in sprightly, engaged prose for the English-reading world.” —Michael D. Gordin, Rosengarten Professor of Modern and Contemporary History, Princeton University

“A sensitive, nuanced portrait . . . and at times reads like a thriller.” —Siamon Gordon, Emeritus Professor of Cellular Pathology, University of Oxford, and a Fellow of the Royal Society

“[an] outstanding, enlightening and delightful biography.” —The Jerusalem Post

“This book deftly unspools and celebrates both the profession and the personal life of a turn-of-the-century giant.” —Library Journal

“The story of a revolutionary era in medicine.” —The Washington Post