Historian John Heilbron delivered these remarks at the conference, "The Life and Work of Linus Pauling (1901-1994): A Discourse on the Art of Biography." In them, Heilbron speaks to issues of trust and continence in the writing of biographies of contemporary scientists. In reviewing previous presentations by S.S. Schweber, Frederic Holmes and Judith Goodstein, Heilbron suggests that trust between author and subject is necessary to the biographical enterprise, and that there is more reason than not to believe that an honest portrayal of one's subject will arise out of a trusting relationship. Heilbron also emphasizes the importance of self-restraint on the part of biographers -- the idea that, rather than straining to capture a subject's life in full, it is wiser to maintain a narrower focus, in part to create a more useful product for the reading public.
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