Paul DeKruif, friend and colleague of André Gratia, collaborator of Sinclair Lewis for his 1925 'Arrowsmith' book, author of 'Microbe Hunters', was 'thanked' by the Rockefeller Institute.
Dedication to Paul DeKruif by Sinclair Lewis, 1925 author of 'Arrowsmith'. Lewis was assisted by DeKruif, who had befriended André Gratia at the Rockfeller Institute in early 1920s, in the composition of the science and characters of the book. André Gratia served as composite model for Dr. Martin Arrowsmith. In 1922 Gratia went with Melle Loïs DeKruif, sister of his friend Paul, to the Belgium Biology Society when Gratia had started to 'doubt' the enzyme/chemical theory of phages identity, favored by his boss and mentor, 1919 Nobel Laureat, Jules Bordet, 'temoigne que le doute est entré dans son esprit'. Maurice Welsch biography of André Gratia, p.620. In 1923 Gratia and Paul DeKruif confirmed the viral identity of phages. Gratia A, de Kruif L (1923) Au sujet de la titration du bactériophage. CR Soc Biol 88, 308-310. Dekruif was thanked by the Rockfeller Institute because he published anonymous, scathing essays in national magazines, exposing and mocking the unscientific, commercialized, and corrupt practices of medical research. DeKruif went on to write 'Microbe Hunters', a social media success for its time.
