The Emperor of All Maladies
A Biography of Cancer
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The Emperor of All Maladies
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Narrated by:
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Fred Sanders
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Written by:
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Siddhartha Mukherjee
About this listen
A magnificent, beautifully written "biography" of cancer - from its first documented appearances thousands of years ago through the epic battles to cure, control, and conquer it to a radical new understanding of its essence.
The Emperor of All Maladies reveals the many faces of an iconic, shape-shifting disease that is the defining plague of our generation. The story of cancer is a story of human ingenuity, resilience, and perseverance but also of hubris, arrogance, paternalism, and misperception, all leveraged against a disease that, just three decades ago, was thought to be easily vanquished in an all-out "war against cancer". Mukherjee recounts centuries of discoveries, setbacks, victories, and deaths, told through the eyes of his predecessors and peers, training their wits against an infinitely resourceful adversary. The audiobook is like a literary thriller with cancer as the central character.
From the Persian Queen Atossa, whose Greek slave may have cut off her diseased breast, to the 19th-century recipients of primitive radiation and chemotherapy to Mukherjee's own leukemia patient, Carla, The Emperor of All Maladies is about the people who have soldiered through toxic, bruising, and draining regimens in order to survive - and to increase the store of human knowledge.
©2010 Siddhartha Mukherjee, M.D. All rights reserved. (P)2015 Simon & Schuster, Inc. All rights reserved.You may also enjoy...
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- Unabridged
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Overall5 out of 5 stars 132
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Performance5 out of 5 stars 107
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Story5 out of 5 stars 107
The extraordinary Siddhartha Mukherjee has written a biography of the gene as deft, brilliant, and illuminating as his extraordinarily successful biography of cancer. Weaving science, social history, and personal narrative to tell us the story of one of the most important conceptual breakthroughs of modern times, Mukherjee animates the quest to understand human heredity and its surprising influence on our lives, personalities, identities, fates, and choices.
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5 out of 5 stars
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A book to be read, again and again.
- By Rob on 2017-11-04
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The Song of the Cell
- An Exploration of Medicine and the New Human
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- Narrated by: Dennis Boutsikaris
- Length: 16 hrs and 3 mins
- Unabridged
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Overall5 out of 5 stars 30
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Performance5 out of 5 stars 26
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Story5 out of 5 stars 26
From the author of The Emperor of All Maladies, winner of the Pulitzer Prize, and The Gene, a #1 New York Times bestseller, comes his most spectacular book yet, an exploration of medicine and our radical new ability to manipulate cells. Rich with Mukherjee’s revelatory and exhilarating stories of scientists, doctors, and the patients whose lives may be saved by their work, The Song of the Cell is the third book in this extraordinary writer’s exploration of what it means to be human.
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5 out of 5 stars
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Another success
- By afsaneh on 2023-06-16
Written by: Siddhartha Mukherjee
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The Laws of Medicine
- Written by: Siddhartha Mukherjee
- Narrated by: Santino Fontana
- Length: 1 hr and 44 mins
- Unabridged
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Overall4.5 out of 5 stars 12
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Performance4.5 out of 5 stars 11
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Story4.5 out of 5 stars 11
Brimming with fascinating historical details and modern medical wonders, this important audiobook is a fascinating glimpse into the struggles and "eureka!" moments that people outside of the medical profession rarely see. Written with Dr. Mukherjee's signature eloquence and passionate prose, The Laws of Medicine is a critical book not just for those in the medical profession but for everyone who is moved to better understand how their health and well-being are being treated.
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3 out of 5 stars
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Problems identified but few solutions
- By P. on 2023-01-24
Written by: Siddhartha Mukherjee
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What Is Life?
- With Mind and Matter and Autobiographical Sketches
- Written by: Erwin Schrödinger, Roger Penrose - foreword
- Narrated by: Bob Souer
- Length: 6 hrs and 8 mins
- Unabridged
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Overall4 out of 5 stars 13
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Performance4.5 out of 5 stars 11
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Story4.5 out of 5 stars 10
Nobel laureate Erwin Schrödinger's What is Life? is one of the great science classics of the 20th century. A distinguished physicist's exploration of the question which lies at the heart of biology, it was written for the layman but proved one of the spurs to the birth of molecular biology and the subsequent discovery of the structure of DNA. It appears here together with "Mind and Matter", his essay investigating a relationship which has eluded and puzzled philosophers since the earliest times.
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5 out of 5 stars
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"Standing on the shoulders of giants"
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Written by: Erwin Schrödinger, and others
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An Elegant Defense
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- Written by: Matt Richtel
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- Length: 12 hrs and 33 mins
- Unabridged
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Overall4.5 out of 5 stars 29
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Performance5 out of 5 stars 24
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Story4.5 out of 5 stars 24
A magnificently reported and soulfully crafted exploration of the human immune system - the key to health and wellness, life and death. An epic, first-of-its-kind audiobook, entwining leading-edge scientific discovery with the intimate stories of four individual lives, by the Pulitzer Prize-winning New York Times journalist.
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5 out of 5 stars
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a masterpiece, phenomenally wrotton
- By Amazon Customer on 2021-10-11
Written by: Matt Richtel
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Immune
- A Journey into the Mysterious System That Keeps You Alive
- Written by: Philipp Dettmer
- Narrated by: Steve Taylor
- Length: 10 hrs and 28 mins
- Unabridged
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Overall5 out of 5 stars 113
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Performance5 out of 5 stars 94
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Story5 out of 5 stars 94
You wake up and feel a tickle in your throat. Your head hurts. You’re mildly annoyed as you get the kids ready for school and dress for work yourself. Meanwhile, an epic war is being fought, just below your skin. Millions are fighting and dying for you to be able to complain as you head out the door. So what, exactly, is your immune system? In Immune, Philipp Dettmer, the brains behind the most popular science channel on YouTube, takes listeners on a journey through the fortress of the human body and its defenses.
-
5 out of 5 stars
-
truly exceeded my expectations.
- By Siavash Mehrabi on 2024-06-07
Written by: Philipp Dettmer
-
The Gene
- An Intimate History
- Written by: Siddhartha Mukherjee
- Narrated by: Dennis Boutsikaris
- Length: 19 hrs and 22 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall5 out of 5 stars 132
-
Performance5 out of 5 stars 107
-
Story5 out of 5 stars 107
The extraordinary Siddhartha Mukherjee has written a biography of the gene as deft, brilliant, and illuminating as his extraordinarily successful biography of cancer. Weaving science, social history, and personal narrative to tell us the story of one of the most important conceptual breakthroughs of modern times, Mukherjee animates the quest to understand human heredity and its surprising influence on our lives, personalities, identities, fates, and choices.
-
5 out of 5 stars
-
A book to be read, again and again.
- By Rob on 2017-11-04
Written by: Siddhartha Mukherjee
-
The Song of the Cell
- An Exploration of Medicine and the New Human
- Written by: Siddhartha Mukherjee
- Narrated by: Dennis Boutsikaris
- Length: 16 hrs and 3 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall5 out of 5 stars 30
-
Performance5 out of 5 stars 26
-
Story5 out of 5 stars 26
From the author of The Emperor of All Maladies, winner of the Pulitzer Prize, and The Gene, a #1 New York Times bestseller, comes his most spectacular book yet, an exploration of medicine and our radical new ability to manipulate cells. Rich with Mukherjee’s revelatory and exhilarating stories of scientists, doctors, and the patients whose lives may be saved by their work, The Song of the Cell is the third book in this extraordinary writer’s exploration of what it means to be human.
-
5 out of 5 stars
-
Another success
- By afsaneh on 2023-06-16
Written by: Siddhartha Mukherjee
-
The Laws of Medicine
- Written by: Siddhartha Mukherjee
- Narrated by: Santino Fontana
- Length: 1 hr and 44 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall4.5 out of 5 stars 12
-
Performance4.5 out of 5 stars 11
-
Story4.5 out of 5 stars 11
Brimming with fascinating historical details and modern medical wonders, this important audiobook is a fascinating glimpse into the struggles and "eureka!" moments that people outside of the medical profession rarely see. Written with Dr. Mukherjee's signature eloquence and passionate prose, The Laws of Medicine is a critical book not just for those in the medical profession but for everyone who is moved to better understand how their health and well-being are being treated.
-
3 out of 5 stars
-
Problems identified but few solutions
- By P. on 2023-01-24
Written by: Siddhartha Mukherjee
-
What Is Life?
- With Mind and Matter and Autobiographical Sketches
- Written by: Erwin Schrödinger, Roger Penrose - foreword
- Narrated by: Bob Souer
- Length: 6 hrs and 8 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall4 out of 5 stars 13
-
Performance4.5 out of 5 stars 11
-
Story4.5 out of 5 stars 10
Nobel laureate Erwin Schrödinger's What is Life? is one of the great science classics of the 20th century. A distinguished physicist's exploration of the question which lies at the heart of biology, it was written for the layman but proved one of the spurs to the birth of molecular biology and the subsequent discovery of the structure of DNA. It appears here together with "Mind and Matter", his essay investigating a relationship which has eluded and puzzled philosophers since the earliest times.
-
5 out of 5 stars
-
"Standing on the shoulders of giants"
- By dan on 2024-06-03
Written by: Erwin Schrödinger, and others
-
An Elegant Defense
- The Extraordinary New Science of the Immune System: A Tale in Four Lives
- Written by: Matt Richtel
- Narrated by: Fred Sanders
- Length: 12 hrs and 33 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall4.5 out of 5 stars 29
-
Performance5 out of 5 stars 24
-
Story4.5 out of 5 stars 24
A magnificently reported and soulfully crafted exploration of the human immune system - the key to health and wellness, life and death. An epic, first-of-its-kind audiobook, entwining leading-edge scientific discovery with the intimate stories of four individual lives, by the Pulitzer Prize-winning New York Times journalist.
-
5 out of 5 stars
-
a masterpiece, phenomenally wrotton
- By Amazon Customer on 2021-10-11
Written by: Matt Richtel
-
Immune
- A Journey into the Mysterious System That Keeps You Alive
- Written by: Philipp Dettmer
- Narrated by: Steve Taylor
- Length: 10 hrs and 28 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall5 out of 5 stars 113
-
Performance5 out of 5 stars 94
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Story5 out of 5 stars 94
You wake up and feel a tickle in your throat. Your head hurts. You’re mildly annoyed as you get the kids ready for school and dress for work yourself. Meanwhile, an epic war is being fought, just below your skin. Millions are fighting and dying for you to be able to complain as you head out the door. So what, exactly, is your immune system? In Immune, Philipp Dettmer, the brains behind the most popular science channel on YouTube, takes listeners on a journey through the fortress of the human body and its defenses.
-
5 out of 5 stars
-
truly exceeded my expectations.
- By Siavash Mehrabi on 2024-06-07
Written by: Philipp Dettmer
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The Breakthrough
- Immunotherapy and the Race to Cure Cancer
- Written by: Charles Graeber
- Narrated by: Will Collyer, Charles Graeber
- Length: 7 hrs and 7 mins
- Unabridged
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Overall5 out of 5 stars 10
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Performance4.5 out of 5 stars 9
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Story5 out of 5 stars 9
Groundbreaking, riveting, and expertly told, The Breakthrough is the story of the game-changing scientific discoveries that unleash our natural ability to recognize and defeat cancer, as told through the experiences of the patients, physicians, and cancer immunotherapy researchers who are on the front lines. This is the incredible true story of the race to find a cure, a dispatch from the life-changing world of modern oncological science, and a brave new chapter in medical history.
Written by: Charles Graeber
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The Code Breaker
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Overall4.5 out of 5 stars 265
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Performance4.5 out of 5 stars 217
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The bestselling author of Leonardo da Vinci and Steve Jobs returns with a “compelling” (The Washington Post) account of how Nobel Prize winner Jennifer Doudna and her colleagues launched a revolution that will allow us to cure diseases, fend off viruses, and have healthier babies.
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2 out of 5 stars
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Not Historical or Balanced
- By Wandering on 2021-04-03
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The Real Doctor Will See You Shortly
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- Written by: Matt McCarthy
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Overall4.5 out of 5 stars 13
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In medical school, Matt McCarthy dreamed of being a different kind of doctor - the sort of mythical, unflappable physician who could reach unreachable patients. But when a new admission to the critical care unit almost died his first night on call, he found himself scrambling. Visions of mastery quickly gave way to hopes of simply surviving hospital life, where confidence was hard to come by and no amount of med school training could dispel the terror of facing actual patients.
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4 out of 5 stars
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Not bad
- By SK on 2022-03-02
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Better
- A Surgeon's Notes on Performance
- Written by: Atul Gawande
- Narrated by: John Bedford Lloyd
- Length: 7 hrs and 34 mins
- Unabridged
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Overall4.5 out of 5 stars 58
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Performance4.5 out of 5 stars 49
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Story4.5 out of 5 stars 48
The struggle to perform well is universal: each one of us faces fatigue, limited resources, and imperfect abilities in whatever we do. But nowhere is this drive to do better more important than in medicine, where lives are on the line with every decision. In this book, Atul Gawande explores how doctors strive to close the gap between best intentions and best performance in the face of obstacles that sometimes seem insurmountable.
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5 out of 5 stars
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love it
- By Amazon Customer on 2018-07-18
Written by: Atul Gawande
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Ten Drugs
- How Plants, Powders, and Pills Have Shaped the History of Medicine
- Written by: Thomas Hager
- Narrated by: Angelo Di Loreto
- Length: 8 hrs and 39 mins
- Unabridged
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Overall4.5 out of 5 stars 18
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Performance5 out of 5 stars 14
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Story4.5 out of 5 stars 14
Beginning with opium, the “joy plant,” which has been used for 10,000 years, Thomas Hager tells a captivating story of medicine. His subjects include the largely forgotten female pioneer who introduced smallpox inoculation to Britain, the infamous knockout drops, the first antibiotic, which saved countless lives, the first antipsychotic, which helped empty public mental hospitals, Viagra, statins, and the new frontier of monoclonal antibodies. This is a deep, wide-ranging, and wildly entertaining book.
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5 out of 5 stars
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I learned so much!
- By AnLea on 2019-07-05
Written by: Thomas Hager
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And the Band Played On
- Politics, People, and the AIDS Epidemic
- Written by: Randy Shilts
- Narrated by: Victor Bevine
- Length: 31 hrs and 44 mins
- Unabridged
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Overall5 out of 5 stars 28
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Performance5 out of 5 stars 21
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Story5 out of 5 stars 21
By the time Rock Hudson's death in 1985 alerted all America to the danger of the AIDS epidemic, the disease had spread across the nation, killing thousands of people and emerging as the greatest health crisis of the 20th century. America faced a troubling question: What happened? How was this epidemic allowed to spread so far before it was taken seriously?
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5 out of 5 stars
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Never forget
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What listeners say about The Emperor of All Maladies
Average Customer RatingsReviews - Please select the tabs below to change the source of reviews.
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Overall4 out of 5 stars
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Performance5 out of 5 stars
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Story4 out of 5 stars
- JORGE ENRIQUE GARCIA
- 2023-06-03
Informative
A wealth of information about cancer with historical references and engaging narrative. Great book, although I feel it could have been shorter without losing the core messages.
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Overall5 out of 5 stars
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Performance5 out of 5 stars
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Story5 out of 5 stars
- Galadriel
- 2021-04-24
Masterpiece
This book is a comprehensive review of the history of cancer. It is well written, detailed, packed full of knowledge, and enjoyable to listen to. Mukherjee is a talented writer who does not fail to educate and entertain. The knowledge he shares is never irrelevant - it is always high yield and relevant to understanding the nature of cancer and the challenges scientists have faced in battling this disease.
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Overall5 out of 5 stars
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Performance5 out of 5 stars
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Story5 out of 5 stars
- Anonymous User
- 2020-09-17
An absolute must read!
Sprawling in scope, yet somehow anchored to the personal, The Emperor of All Maladies is Dr. Mukherjee’s magnum opus. Taking on the history of cancer could have been dull and dreary task. Instead, it is a very accessible and inspiring read, clarifying key ideas and concepts without making the reader feel intellectually inferior. The book seems to mimic Mukerjee’s own journey with his patients—and of their own as well—at times hopeful, and at others more sullen. I could not put this book down—nor, I suspect, will you.
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1 person found this helpful
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Overall4 out of 5 stars
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Performance4 out of 5 stars
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Story4 out of 5 stars
- Dani
- 2018-04-07
A tough one to get through, but super worthy.
I had a hard time finishing this one, even though it was captivating and interesting all the way through. I took a break after Mukherjee described the horrors of radical mastectomies; his telling actually affected me like a gory horror movie would, even though his words were carefully chosen to be as compassionate to the patients/victims as possible. I then had to take another break when two family members near to me passed of cancer and cancer-related disease within two weeks of each other. Although his narrative was generally hopeful (everyone must die, but we needn't die of this disease), it was too much to be faced with its realities both in my personal and literary life.
In the end, I did finish and I am very glad to have read it. Here's hoping that, in the inevitable eventuality that I am myself a cancer patient, that I am able to face my struggle with the dignity Mukherjee's patients are portrayed as having. Here's to science! Here's to doctors! And above all, here's to the patients, victims and survivors!
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4 people found this helpful
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Overall5 out of 5 stars
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Performance5 out of 5 stars
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Story5 out of 5 stars
- Amazon Customer
- 2018-09-19
One of the best books I’ve ever read. The author employ of English is superb, stellar.
This simply one of the best books I’ve ever read. I not only have it on Audible, but I have purchased 3 hard copies for my friends. The book is simply too good not to share. His treatment (no pun intended) of the history of cancer is spellbinding.
A must read.
David Beatty
#Audible1
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Overall4 out of 5 stars
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Performance4 out of 5 stars
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Story4 out of 5 stars
- wertu234
- 2020-08-22
a bit long, but worth it
well narrated. a good overview of the history bit cancer. Makes the scientific discoveries and actors very engaging. A bit long, but worth it
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Overall5 out of 5 stars
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Performance5 out of 5 stars
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Story5 out of 5 stars
- Rob
- 2018-06-21
A must-read for all medical students
Soundly researched, credible and profound. The author is a master of English as well as oncology. An excellent reading by Fred Sanders
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Overall5 out of 5 stars
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Performance5 out of 5 stars
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Story4 out of 5 stars
- Nick
- 2021-11-09
Nonfiction at its best!
This sometimes overly detailed history of humanities struggle against cancer illustrates how human society has reacted and adapted to cancer. Infused with the personal stories of those involved the book charts the developments of surgery, radiotherapy and chemotherapy as a desperate response to cancer. It vividly describes the unimaginable degree of suffering endured by cancer patients and the horrible ethical choices presented to physicians. However, it equally tells a story of humanities successes against impossible odds and how despite it's incredible complexity we have gained ground against cancer.
The battle against cancer has had many casualties and not unlike a war novel this book contains difficult sections. For me, the descriptions of the children's leukemia wards during the initial development of chemotherapeutics remains one of the most haunting things I've ever read. How those physicians rationalized their clinical judgments was unsettling. Its a rare thing for a non-fiction author to generate this degree of emotional investment in the reader. This book is one of few exceptions and it stays with you, for better or worse, months after reading it.
Despite some pacing issues, The Emperor of All Maladies remains one of the best non-fiction books I've ever read. I would recommend it to anyone who wants to better understand the relationship between humans and cancer.
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Overall5 out of 5 stars
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Performance5 out of 5 stars
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Story5 out of 5 stars
- melissa redl
- 2021-11-29
Informative, interesting & hopeful
A great book for anyone with cancer who is searching for meaning behind their diagnosis or for people just interested in how this entity came to be so ingrained in our society. I am considering listening a second time, despite the length of the book, due to the plethora of facts given & enjoyment of the narration.
Highly recommended.
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