Product Review

This volume contains new editions of two books which have been available only sporadically in the decades since their publication. R. Pearson’s Pasteur: Plagiarist, Imposter was originally published in 1942, and is a succinct introduction to both Louis Pasteur and Antoine Béchamp, and the reasons behind the troubled relationship that they shared for their entire working lives. Whereas Pearson’s work is a valuable introduction to an often complex topic, it is Ethel Douglas Hume’s expansive and well-documented Béchamp or Pasteur? A Lost Chapter in the History of Biology which provides the main body of evidence. It covers the main points of contention between Béchamp and Pasteur in depth sufficient to satisfy any degree of scientific or historical scrutiny, and it contains, wherever possible, detailed references to the source material and supporting evidence. Virtually no claim in Ms Hume’s book is undocumented – to have access to more material, one would need to be able to read French, and go to the original source material. The reader will soon discern that neither Mr Pearson nor Ms Hume could ever be called fans of Pasteur or his ‘science’. They both declare their intentions openly; that they wish to contribute to the undoing of a massive medical and scientific fraud. The publication of this present edition of their work is undertaken in the same spirit. “Nothing is lost, nothing is created ... all is transformed. Nothing is the prey of death. All is the prey of life.” – Antoine Béchamp