Book Log 2017 #8: The Emperor of All Maladies by Siddhartha Mukherjee
We don't often think of diseases as having histories - they just kind of are - but this book seeks to give a "biography" of cancer, finding its earliest mentions in history and literature and detailing how humanity has tried to identify, treat, and prevent the disease ever since.
Mukherjee is an oncologist, and his approach to the material balances history, science, and his own experience in treating cancer patients. The blend is highly readable and engrossing, especially if you have an interest in medicine or public health.
There was the odd moment here or there where I thought the focus went a little too strongly on treatment and trying to find a cure (which I suppose makes sense for a book written by an oncologist), but the book never bogs down in scientific detail.
And if it makes any difference to you, the book did win a Pulitzer Prize for non-fiction. So if you don't trust my opinion, maybe you can trust the Columbia School of Journalism?
01 December 2017
Subscribe to:
Post Comments (Atom)
For want of anything better to post, here's a breakdown of if I've been to the most populous 100 cities in the US, and if so for how...
-
As you may have heard, there's a new question facing all of us in Red Sox Nation. Now what? It's a valid question. Citizensh...
-
And finally, U!P!N! THE NEW UPN created a new Thursday night of comedies, and seems very proud of being the only network with a full two hou...
-
A couple of months ago I went on new insurance. For the first time ever, I was asked to get prior authorization from a doctor to get a presc...
No comments:
Post a Comment