net downloads could eventually re-
place books. For now, Harrison’s
Manual as the book is superb; the
PDA version is also very good, but
not as good as the book.
David Chou
Department of Laboratory Medicine
University of Washington
Seattle, WA 98195
DOI: 10.1373/clinchem.2003.030197
Chase, Chance, and Creativity: The
Lucky Art of Novelty. James H. Aus-
tin. Cambridge, MA: The MIT Press,
2003, 245 pp., $18.95, paperback.
ISBN 0-262-51135-5.
Perhaps it was just serendipity that
the editor asked me to comment on
this book. If it was, then I had little
knowledge, before reading it, what
impact serendipity could, or does,
have on our lives. Dr. Austin has
revised his earlier book, published in
1978, without too much discussion of
the reasons for revision except to
emphasize the ageless questions that
contrast luck vs creativity and how
these affect success in research and
life.
The book discusses the three ele-
ments of the title in an engaging
manner. Autobiographical experi-
ences dominate the first section, in
which the author uses his experience
as a physician and researcher in the
field of neurology to highlight the
ways
in which
the search
for
progress (the chase) can be influ-
enced by apparently unrelated inci-
dents or individuals, in ways that
make luck seem essential to success.
His early research in the 1950s on the
topics of metachromatic leukodys-
trophy (MLD) and globoid leukodys-
trophy (GLD) in New York, Oregon,
and India are reported with some-
what overzealous detail, but the
reader’s task is lightened by the nu-
merous anecdotes that draw atten-
tion to factors that swayed or deter-
mined
the
final
outcome. One
notable
example,
covering
two
pages, reports the significance of a
mass growing on the neck of his pet
spaniel Tom and how this led, even-
tually, to a better understanding of
the mucopolysaccharide content of
Lafora bodies found in patients with
MLD. The author’s enthusiasm for
the power of Zen and meditation is
clearly stated, but it appears to this
reviewer that Austin regards the fre-
qu