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A review by ktrain3900
The Song of the Cell: An Exploration of Medicine and the New Human by Siddhartha Mukherjee
challenging
informative
inspiring
reflective
slow-paced
4.0
I'm not going to get into the science here, except to admit that I did not understand everything, and that's ok. I don't think the point was necessarily to write a book in which every reader would "get" everything, so much as to provide a history of human understanding of the cell and how we're using this understanding to try to make lives better. I think there is something to take away from this book for a variety of readers, including lay readers like myself, even if you need to be patient with it.
The writing moves between academic and lyrical, with both nitty-gritty science and personal stories. I find this balance to largely work, even if I had re-read some more sciency passages, and (occasionally) come across something I had to accept I'd never fully "get". All in all, it's truly awe-inspiring how much we've discovered and have done with these discoveries. It's equally terrifying how much we still don't know.
The writing moves between academic and lyrical, with both nitty-gritty science and personal stories. I find this balance to largely work, even if I had re-read some more sciency passages, and (occasionally) come across something I had to accept I'd never fully "get". All in all, it's truly awe-inspiring how much we've discovered and have done with these discoveries. It's equally terrifying how much we still don't know.
Content Warnings
Moderate: Cancer