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?