{"product_id":"arrowsmith-9791043133695","title":"Arrowsmith","description":"\u003cp\u003e • Author(s): Sinclair Lewis\u003cbr\u003e • Publisher: Les Prairies Numeriques\u003cbr\u003e • Publisher Imprint: Les Prairies Numeriques\u003cbr\u003e • BISAC: Ancient, Classical \u0026amp; Medieval\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003e\u003cstrong\u003eArrowsmith\u003c\/strong\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eSinclair Lewis\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003e\u003cstrong\u003eMartin Arrowsmith\u003c\/strong\u003e, the titular protagonist, grows up in a small Midwestern town where he wants to become a doctor. At medical school he meets an abrasive but brilliant professor, Gottlieb, who becomes his mentor. \u003cstrong\u003eAs Arrowsmith\u003c\/strong\u003e completes his training he begins a career practicing medicine. But, echoing \u003cstrong\u003eLewis\u003c\/strong\u003e's \u003cstrong\u003eMain Street\u003c\/strong\u003e, small-town life becomes too insular and restricting; his interest in research and not people makes him unpopular, and he decides to work in a research laboratory instead.From there Arrowsmith begins a career that hits all of the ethical quandaries that scientists and those in the medical profession encounter: everything from the ethical problem of research protocol strictness versus saving lives, to doing research for the betterment of mankind versus for turning a profit, to the politics of institutions, to the social problems of wealth and poverty. Arrowsmith struggles with these dilemmas because, like all of us, he isn't perfect. Despite his interest in helping humanity, he has little interest in people-aside from his serial womanizing-and this makes the path of his career an even harder one to walk. He's surrounded on all sides by icons of nobility, icons of pride, and icons of rapaciousness, each one distracting him from his calling.Though the book isn't strictly a satire, few escape \u003cstrong\u003eLewis\u003c\/strong\u003e's biting pen. He skewers everyone indiscriminately: small-town rubes, big-city blowhards, aspiring politicians, doctors of both the noble and greedy variety, hapless ivory-towered researchers, holier-than-thou neighbors, tedious gilded-age socialites, and even lazy and backwards islanders. In some ways, Arrowsmith rivals \u003cstrong\u003eMain Street\u003c\/strong\u003e in its often-bleak view of human nature-though unlike \u003cstrong\u003eMain Street\u003c\/strong\u003e, the good to humanity that science offers is an ultimate light at the end of the tunnel.The novel's publication in \u003cstrong\u003e1925\u003c\/strong\u003e made it one of the first serious \"science\" novels, exploring all aspects of the life and career of a modern scientist. \u003cstrong\u003eLewis\u003c\/strong\u003e was aided in the novel's preparation by \u003cstrong\u003ePaul\u003c\/strong\u003e de Kruif, a microbiologist and writer, whose medically-accurate contributions greatly enhance the text's realist flavor.In \u003cstrong\u003e1926\u003c\/strong\u003e Arrowsmith was awarded the Pulitzer Prize, but \u003cstrong\u003eLewis\u003c\/strong\u003e famously declined it. In his refusal letter, he claimed a disinterest in prizes of any kind; but the \u003cstrong\u003eNew York Times\u003c\/strong\u003e reported that those close to him say he was still angered over the Pulitzer's last-minute snatching of the \u003cstrong\u003e1921\u003c\/strong\u003e prize from \u003cstrong\u003eMain Street\u003c\/strong\u003e in favor of giving it to \u003cstrong\u003eThe Age\u003c\/strong\u003e of Innocence.\u003c\/p\u003e","brand":"Les Prairies Numeriques","offers":[{"title":"Paperback","offer_id":47776372129943,"sku":"9791043133695","price":2668.0,"currency_code":"INR","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0666\/3471\/1191\/files\/9791043133695.webp?v=1777995854","url":"https:\/\/atlanticbooks.com\/products\/arrowsmith-9791043133695","provider":"Atlantic Books","version":"1.0","type":"link"}