Kuru

The Gajdusek letters and field notes cover approximately the initial year of 1957. Apart from an explanatory introduction spanning a longer period, the book contains no narrative as such, the letters appearing almost verbatim and in order of date. They show graphically the wide-ranging achievements of Gajdusek (and Zigas), from bringing kuru to worldwide attention to creating a functioning bush hospital in next to no time (apparently out of thin air), and the appalling difficulties encountered and overcome at every stage. One stands amazed at Gajdusek's unbounded energy and enthusiasm and his ability to stretch every day to 48 hours. Sadly, in the circumstances, some criticism seems unavoidable. The letters, understandably, are often long and repetitive, inevitably cluttered with a host of basically administrative problems and anguished requests for the most basic supplies—sometimes similarly written to two or three different people. Unfortunately, this makes heavy going for the reader and

Aesthetics · Art · Criticism · Enthusiasm · Field (mathematics) · Kuru · Literature · Narrative · Period (music) · Australian Indigenous Culture and History · Medicine · Philosophy · Psychology

• Frontier Journeys. Fore Experiences on the Kuru Patrols

  Open Access•Annette Beasley, A N Beasley•Oceania•2009

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• Tensions in the Field

  Annette Beasley, Annette Noble Beasley•History and Anthropology•2012

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• The Possession of Kuru

  Open Access•Warwick Anderson•Comparative Studies in Society…•2000

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