I never imagined that I would be asked to write an autobiography in a microbiology tome. For that matter, little did I think that I would consider microbiology the most intriguing subject in the life sciences and the only field I wanted to study. My formal scientific training was in chemistry. This is a recounting of my conversion and the opportunities I have had to work in the microbial sciences with some of the major figures (and characters) during a period of marvelous intensity and productivity. I want to recognize and thank my many distinguished colleagues for the ways in which they have helped me to experience a fruitful and stimulating life as a microbiologist.

中文翻译：

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不聚集青苔。

我从没想过会要求我在微生物学巨著中写一部自传。因此，我认为微生物学是生命科学中最有趣的学科，也是我想研究的唯一领域。我的正规科学训练是化学。这是对我的转换的描述，以及我在一段神奇的强度和生产力时期必须与一些主要人物（和人物）一起从事微生物科学工作的机会。我想感谢和感谢我的许多杰出同事，他们以何种方式帮助我体验了微生物学家的丰硕成果。