Josef Penninger

Josef Penninger is considered one of the greatest scientists of our time. The advances that he has made in the field of immunology is beyond belief. In the July 2001 edition of Esquire, Mary Rogan wrote a profile of Penninger, which includes his early life, research, and the numerous scientific breakthroughs that he has achieved since then.
Rogan has evidently done her homework on Penninger's research. It is clear that she took the time to read through and understand his various scientific theses. She has then broken these complicated works down into more understandable terms for her readers. Despite this, most of Rogan's sources are people who know Penninger well. In my opinion, this makes Rogan's piece much more credible and dynamic. By using people who have been exposed to Penninger constantly thoughout their lives, Rogan manages to paint a more competent picture of Penninger's identity and his motivations. These firsthand accounts of Penninger are also much more interesting for the reader to listen to than to simply hear a boring account of Penninger's life from just another journalistic source.
Another way that Rogan increases the reader's enjoyment of her piece is through her use of style and diction. The biggest example of this in the piece is Rogan's comparison of Penninger's research to a bicycle. At several different points in the piece, Rogan returns to the metaphor of a bicycle on a hill to describe the pace of Penninger's research. Especially when the metaphorical bicycle is racing down a hill, it gives the reader a very visceral image of the increasingly furious pace of Penninger's research as he approaches a conclusion. Another good example of Rogan's style is how she periodically writes short paragraphs about Penninger's younger life. These memoirs serve the purpose of further connecting and familiarizing the reader with Penninger and his personality. These recurring examples of style and diction make Rogan's piece much more entertaining to read than a traditional biography of Penninger.