The Emperor of All Maladies: A Biography of Cancer

Summary (from the publisher): Cancer is among the most dreaded of diseases, often mentioned in whispers or euphemisms. (The very word is a curse in Dutch.) Whatever we call it, "the big C" is unavoidable in any language: According to the World Cancer Report, it will become the worldwide leading cause of deaths in 2010. Siddhartha Mukherjee's The Emperor of All Maladies lifts the taboo by presenting a history of cancer in the context of both of miscomprehensions and advances in its detection and treatment. As a cancer physician and researcher whose articles have appeared in a wide variety of publications, the author approaches the subject with a rare combination of expertise, humanity, and writing skills. A Discover Great New Book Selection. (A sample of prepublication testimonials: "Rarely have the science and poetry of illness been so elegantly braided together as they are in this erudite, engrossing, kind book.")

Review: This book was amazingly well researched. It traces the history of cancer and the research and treatment that humans have employed over four thousand years to treat it. Mukherjee starts at the very beginning with the first appearance of cancer in writings of a great Egyptian physician who lived around 2625 BC up until treatment in 2005. This book was truly a biography - of the relationship humans have with the "distorted version of our normal selves."

Stars: 3