hannahleoni's review against another edition
challenging
emotional
hopeful
informative
inspiring
reflective
sad
medium-paced
5.0
marianatole's review against another edition
5.0
I enjoyed this book for its writing and for its presentation of information. It is well written and its narrative flow is impressive for something rather technical. I soaked up all the facts and information, but towards the end, I did start tripping over the mechanics of the research being described. Knowing the history of the research and how it now stands casts much more light on a frightening unknown for me. Knowledge can be a comfort.
oclairej's review against another edition
5.0
It isn't exactly beach reading, but this book takes science, history , culture, medicine, politics and wraps them around a subject that touches all our lives at one point or another: cancer. Very well written - I promise you won't get bored- and well organized the author has a great voice that not only helps translate from medical speak to common language but more importantly helps you understand how far we have come with the fight on this disease and how much farther we have to go. I think this is a must read for anyone who's been effected by cancer and highly recommended by anyone who's ever wondered about cancer research.
jasonfurman's review against another edition
5.0
My guess is I'm not the first person to use the term "magisterial" to describe this so-called "biography" of cancer. In fact I would be surprised if many people had not used the term in their description. It begins with Imhotep's description/diagnosis of cancer and the stark statement that there is nothing that can be done about it. And then it moves forward charting our understanding of the disease, the evolution of the main types of treatment, how we think about the disease, all interspersed with a few stories of his own patients that illustrate many of the larger themes in the book.
I initially thought it was poorly organized and like any historical survey took too long to get to the modern understanding and in particular the molecular biological understanding of cancer. But it eventually got there, in a quite fullsome way, and looking back it was a coherent read and actually an exciting page turner. I just wish we knew how it ends--but that chapter has not been written yet.
I initially thought it was poorly organized and like any historical survey took too long to get to the modern understanding and in particular the molecular biological understanding of cancer. But it eventually got there, in a quite fullsome way, and looking back it was a coherent read and actually an exciting page turner. I just wish we knew how it ends--but that chapter has not been written yet.
misskris015's review against another edition
5.0
This book took me a good six months to read, but I ended up finishing it in my the middle of my hematology/oncology rotation, and it was very fitting. I though that Dr Mukherjee did a great job taking us through the history of cancer. It was very surreal to imagine what it would have been like to practice medicine and treat cancer back in Sidney Farber's day. Treating cancer then must have been terrifying. It is amazing how far we have come, how little we knew, how much we know now, and also to think about how much we have yet to know.
ladamic's review against another edition
5.0
It gets a bit scattered by the end (which I suppose the current state of cancer research and treatment is) but the rest of the book has superb pacing, and dwells on the development itself, rather than forced character descriptions as some other books do. Also, notably absent is the author's own agenda or favorite theory, which gives the refreshing appearance of getting the full picture.
desirosie's review against another edition
4.0
What an interesting book. The sections related to the politics of cancer funding were , and sometimes I thought he could have structured a chapter better as the bouncing around in time was not always handled as well as I thought it could be. But overall, a fascinating read. Toward the end I could feel the urgency pick up and I remember thinking, “I have to keep reading! They are about to discover Herceptin!” He has some beautiful philosophical insights into this terrible disease that is as much a part of what it means to live, even as it destroys our lives.
“Medicine, I said, begins with storytelling. Patients tell stories to describe illness; doctors tell stories to understand it. Science tells its own story to explain diseases.”
“Medicine, I said, begins with storytelling. Patients tell stories to describe illness; doctors tell stories to understand it. Science tells its own story to explain diseases.”