Includes bibliographical references (p. 296-301) and index.

The pasteurization of spontaneous generation -- 'The battle over the electron' -- The eclipse of Isaac Newton: Arthur Eddington's 'proof' of general relativity -- Very unscientific management -- The Hawthorne studies: finding what you are looking for -- Myth in the time of cholera -- 'The Priest who held the key': Gregor Mendel and the ratios of fact and fiction -- Was Joseph Lister Mr Clean? -- The Origin of Species by means of use-inheritance -- 'A is for ape, B is for Bible': science, religion, and melodrama -- Painting yourself into a comer: Charles Best and the discovery of insulin -- Alexander Fleming's dirty dishes -- 'A decoy of Satan'.