Ivan Pavlov: A Russian Life in Science

Winner of the Pfizer Award from the History of Science Society "Contrary to legend, Ivan Pavlov (1849-1936) never trained a dog to salivate to the sound of a bell."So begins this definitive, deeply researched biography of Ivan Pavlov. Daniel P. Todes fundamentally reinterprets the Russian physiologist's famous research on conditional reflexes and weaves his life, values, and science into the tumultuous century of Russian history-particularly that of its intelligentsia-from the reign of tsar Nicholas I to Stalin's time. Ivan Pavlov was born to a family of priests in provincial Riazan before the serfs were emancipated, and made his home and professional success in the booming capital of St. Petersburg in late imperial Russia. He suffered the cataclysmic destruction of his world during the Bolshevik seizure of power and civil war of 1917-21, rebuilt his life in his seventies as a "prosperous dissident" during the Leninist 1920s, and flourished professionally as never before in the 1930s industrialization, revolution, and terror of Stalin times.Using a wide variety of previously unavailable archival materials, Todes tells a vivid story of that life and redefines Pavlov's legacy. Pavlov was not, in fact, a behaviorist who believed that psychology should address only external behaviors; rather, he sought to explain the emotional and intellectual life of animals and humans, "the torments of our consciousness." This iconic "objectivist" was actually a profoundly anthropomorphic thinker whose science was suffused with his own experiences, values, and subjective interpretations.Todes's story of this powerful personality and extraordinary man is based upon interviews with surviving coworkers and family members (along with never-before-analyzed taped interviews from the 1960s and 1970s), examination of hundreds of scientific works by Pavlov and his coworkers, and close analysis of materials from some twenty-five archives. The materials range from the records of his student years at Riazan Seminary to the transcripts of the Communist Party cells in his labs, and from his scientific manuscripts and notebooks to his political speeches; they include revealing love letters to his future wife and correspondence with hundreds of scholars, artists, and Communist Party leaders; and memoirs by many coworkers, his daughter, his wife, and his lover.The product of more than twenty years of research, this is the first scholarly biography of the physiologist to be published in any language.

Table of Contents:
Preface Introduction PART ONE: The Seminarian Chooses Science (1849-1874) 1. The Pavlovs of Riazan 2. Seminarian in the `Sixties 3. St. Petersburg University PART TWO: Wilderness Years (1875-1890) 4. The Reluctant Physician 5. Serafima Vasil'evna Karchevskaia 6. Time of Troubles 7. In From the Cold PART THREE: Man of Tsarist Science (1891-1904) 8. A NonChekhovian Type 9. The Pavlovs of St. Petersburg 10. Professor of Physiology 11. The Physiology Factory: Forces of Production 12. The Physiology Factory: Relations of Production 13. Favorite Dogs 14. A Convincing Synthesis 15. Dacha Life 16. A European Reputation 17. Targeting the Psyche 18. The Nobel Prize PART FOUR: Nobelist in the Silver Age (1905-1914) 19. Amid Russia's Political Crisis 20. Family Life 21. Pavlov's Quest 22. The Factory Retooled 23. Battle of the Titans 24. Women Coworkers and the Physiology of Emotion 25. Mariia Kapitonovna Petrova PART FIVE: War and Revolution (1914-1921) 26. War 27. Revolution 28. Cataclysm 29. Where Are You, Freedom? 30 To Leave My Homeland PART SIX: Prosperous Dissident (1922-1929) 31. The Pavlovs of Leningrad 32. A Great Journey 33. Laboratory Revival 34. Lecturing the Bolsheviks and Leaving the Academy 35. The Commissar and the Dialectician 36. Freud, the Flood, and the Physiology of Personality 37. Two Books and a Beast 38. Types, Temperament, and Character 39. Work and Play in City and Countryside 40. On the Eve of the Great Break PART SEVEN: Icon of Soviet and World Science (1929-1936) 41. International Celebrity 42. Stalin Times 43. Pavlov's Communists 44. Koltushi: Pavlov's Science Village 45. Psychiatry 46. Gestalt Pavlov-Style 47. Year of Climaxes 48. At the Summit: The International Physiology Congress 49. Final Days Epilogue Glossary Bibliography

About the Author :
Daniel P. Todes is Professor of History of Medicine at The Johns Hopkins University. He is the author of Darwin Without Malthus: The Struggle for Existence in Russian Evolutionary Thought and two earlier books on Pavlov: Pavlov's Physiology Factory: Experiment, Interpretation, Laboratory Enterprise, and a short biography for young adults, Ivan Pavlov: Exploring the Animal Machine.

Review :
"[B]reathtakingly encompassing biography....Daniel Todes can be applauded for having written this important volume, which fills a void in the historiographical literature. It will, I hope, stimulate a new wave of research, discussion, and contextualization of Russian physiology in its wider international context....[I]t is a highly detailed and well-crafted study of the eminent Russian physiologist, written in a nice narrative style and a captivating tone....His brilliant biography is a most detailed and exhaustive account of Ivan Petrovich Pavlov. It can be hoped that scholarly societies in the history of science and allied fields will find good and appropriate ways to honor the depth of research and captivating writing style of this volume with the awards for excellence that are surely due this marvelous piece of work."--Frank W. Stahnisch, ISIS "The book itself is an outstanding scientific biography with classical virtues. The trinity of life, thought, and social setting is presented through the joint use of archival research and conceptual analysis. The book itself exemplifies the theoretically interesting relations between life, society, and theorizing. At the same time, Todes adheres to the biographical frame, saving us from a dry theoretical analysis of these relationships. The book clearly and sharply shows the metaphoric relations constituted between society and scientists through the mediation of life....[T]he book is characterized by a balanced chronological presentation and rich archival support."--Csaba Pléh, European Yearbook of the History of Psychology "Daniel Todes's new book serves as a shining example of an academic biography...By familiarizing the reader with the original and authentic ideas of Pavlov, as well as his values, character, political views, and idiosyncrasies, Todes's book will remain an important source for anyone interested in Pavlov or for those studying the history of science and society in late imperial, revolutionary, and early Soviet Russia."--Kritika: Explorations in Russian and Eurasian History "[This] book is a model of impeccable scholarship this is an impressive landmark study of both Pavlov and his Russia that deserves a wide readership; it will not be surpassed in the foreseeable future."--Journal of Modern History "[A]n excellent new biography."--The New York Times "It is astonishing to learn that when Daniel Todes began researching Pavlov's life in 1989, there was neither an authoritative biography of the man nor a comprehensive account of his work. Ivan Pavlov: A Russian Life in Science, 25 years in the making and a masterpiece of the biographer's art, has made handsome amends for this neglect. It is a mighty work of scholarship....Mr. Todes's gripping story does full justice to Pavlov's gigantic personality, his public and private life, his science, and the political and intellectual currents within and around him. A great man, a great life and a great biography."--Raymond Tallis, Wall Street Journal "No scholar of Pavlov or of the disciplines he inspired will be able to ignore this achievement."--The New Yorker "Daniel P. Todes achieves a level of mastery that transforms biography into history....The originality of its multilingual sources and serious treatment of scientific research marks it as an exemplary work of scholarship....Eminently readable."--Science "Todes's biography proves not merely definitive, but redefining....History of science at its intricate best."--Times Literary Supplement "Written with the jeweler's eye of the scholar yet retaining the spontaneity and storytelling flair of the journalist, Todes's study fills important gaps in Pavlov scholarship. It is a remarkable book, the likes of which are rarely seen today."--American Scientist "[A] magisterial, deeply impressive, large-scale biography....The author deftly weaves a tapestry from the multiple facets of Pavlov's life and career while firmly grounding the portrait in the political, scientific, cultural, and social contexts of the time....This book should be in every academic library."--CHOICE "The most impressive biography I've read in years, in places having the feel of a classic Russian novel....It's one of those rare works that actually deserve the adjective 'magisterial.'"--Steve Dodson, The Millions "It is going to be difficult for reviewers to avoid clichés about this wonderful biography--and wonderful it is, as both a work of scholarship and as a highly readable story of a truly 'Russian life in science'....A biography such as this exemplifies what humanistic research has to contribute to public discussion of the place of science in the modern world....Biologists and historians alike can read this volume and feel their own special interests addressed. I read it from cover to cover with unalloyed pleasure."--Roger Smith, Somatosphere "Russianists will get a clear picture of the country during Pavlov's time...while physiologists and psychiatrists will find an accessible perspective on the scientist's works and research...[H]istorians of the era may delight in the level of detail this book has to offer."--Library Journal "A comprehensive, nuanced picture of Pavlov's life and times and his seminal contributions to science."--Kirkus Reviews "This volume surely represents the most richly researched and assiduously documented biography of Ivan Pavlov that will ever be written. Many of Todes's revelations will profoundly change the conventional view of Pavlov, the man and the scientist. All serious students of behavioral and neural science should read this book."--Ed Wasserman, Stuit Professor of Experimental Psychology, The University of Iowa "One doesn't find biographies of this type much anymore, and that is a real shame. This book is the product of decades of research by Todes, and it shows. He has culled sources from archives in at least five countries and left out seemingly nothing of importance for understanding Pavlov. He knows his subject inside and out, and we get to know the scientist in these pages as if he were a person we've actually met. There is nothing like this book in any language-it is the definitive biography."--Michael D. Gordin, Rosengarten Professor of Modern and Contemporary History, Princeton University "This fine scholarly biography is destined to become the definitive study of Ivan Pavlov, the great Russian physiologist. Todes gives us a remarkable picture of Pavlov's scientific work during the tumultuous years of change and explores the wider cultural and historical context of Russian science in transition. Packed with new research and deep historical insight, this is a must-read for anyone intrigued by scientific achievement."--Janet Browne, Aramont Professor of the History of Science, Harvard University, author of Charles Darwin: A Biography "This is an extraordinary book."--First Things "In short, Ivan Pavlov: A Russian Life in Science gives extraordinary detail to the life and times of an extraordinary scientist....[T]his wonderful tome will bring hours of intellectual joy to anyone who reads it."--PsycCRITIQUES "The definitive biography of Pavlov for some time to come."--The British Journal of Psychiatry "A good biography carefully uncovers and examines the assumptions that lie underneath the popular image of its subject; a great biography, as Todes has written, transcends that popular image."--The Russian Review "This is the long-awaited, magisterial biography that culminates twenty-five years of painstaking work on Pavlov's science by one of history of biology's foremost scholars."--Bulletin of the History of Medicine "Well written, thoroughly researched and extremely readable, the cost represents good value for money and Ivan Pavlov: A Russian Life in Science deserves a place on all good library shelves."--The Biologist "Ivan Pavlov: A Russian Life in Science is an exceptional scientific biography, but it is also a vivid portrait of its time and place. Todes wears his exhaustive research lightly, never burdening the reader with unnecessary or undigested detail. Unlike Pavlov's dogs, teased and drained into a state of perpetual appetite, the reader is left fully sated."--Australian Book Review