Listen free for 30 days
-
The Song of the Cell
- An Exploration of Medicine and the New Human
- Narrated by: Dennis Boutsikaris
- Length: 16 hrs and 3 mins
Failed to add items
Add to Cart failed.
Add to Wish List failed.
Remove from wish list failed.
Follow podcast failed
Unfollow podcast failed
Buy Now for $29.13
No default payment method selected.
We are sorry. We are not allowed to sell this product with the selected payment method
Publisher's Summary
Winner of the 2023 PROSE Award for Excellence in Biological and Life Sciences and the 2023 Chautauqua Prize!
Named a New York Times Notable Book and a Best Book of the Year by The Economist, Oprah Daily, BookPage, Book Riot, the New York Public Library, and more!
In The Song of the Cell, the extraordinary author of the Pulitzer Prize-winning The Emperor of All Maladies and the #1 New York Times bestseller The Gene “blends cutting-edge research, impeccable scholarship, intrepid reporting, and gorgeous prose into an encyclopedic study that reads like a literary page-turner” (Oprah Daily).
Mukherjee begins this magnificent story in the late 1600s, when a distinguished English polymath, Robert Hooke, and an eccentric Dutch cloth-merchant, Antonie van Leeuwenhoek looked down their handmade microscopes. What they saw introduced a radical concept that swept through biology and medicine, touching virtually every aspect of the two sciences, and altering both forever. It was the fact that complex living organisms are assemblages of tiny, self-contained, self-regulating units. Our organs, our physiology, our selves—hearts, blood, brains—are built from these compartments. Hooke christened them “cells.”
The discovery of cells—and the reframing of the human body as a cellular ecosystem—announced the birth of a new kind of medicine based on the therapeutic manipulations of cells. A hip fracture, a cardiac arrest, Alzheimer’s dementia, AIDS, pneumonia, lung cancer, kidney failure, arthritis, COVID pneumonia—all could be reconceived as the results of cells, or systems of cells, functioning abnormally. And all could be perceived as loci of cellular therapies.
Filled with writing so vivid, lucid, and suspenseful that complex science becomes thrilling, The Song of the Cell tells the story of how scientists discovered cells, began to understand them, and are now using that knowledge to create new humans. Told in six parts, and laced with Mukherjee’s own experience as a researcher, a doctor, and a prolific reader, The Song of the Cell is both panoramic and intimate—a masterpiece on what it means to be human.
“In an account both lyrical and capacious, Mukherjee takes us through an evolution of human understanding: from the seventeenth-century discovery that humans are made up of cells to our cutting-edge technologies for manipulating and deploying cells for therapeutic purposes” (The New Yorker).
PLEASE NOTE: When you purchase this title, the accompanying PDF will be available in your Audible Library along with the audio.
You may also enjoy...
-
The Gene
- An Intimate History
- Written by: Siddhartha Mukherjee
- Narrated by: Dennis Boutsikaris
- Length: 19 hrs and 22 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
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.
-
-
A book to be read, again and again.
- By Rob on 2017-11-04
Written by: Siddhartha Mukherjee
-
The Laws of Medicine
- Written by: Siddhartha Mukherjee
- Narrated by: Santino Fontana
- Length: 1 hr and 44 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
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.
-
-
Problems identified but few solutions
- By P. on 2023-01-24
Written by: Siddhartha Mukherjee
-
The Emperor of All Maladies
- A Biography of Cancer
- Written by: Siddhartha Mukherjee
- Narrated by: Fred Sanders
- Length: 22 hrs and 18 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
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".
-
-
A tough one to get through, but super worthy.
- By Dani on 2018-04-07
Written by: Siddhartha Mukherjee
-
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
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
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.
-
-
truly exceeded my expectations.
- By Siavash Mehrabi on 2024-06-07
Written by: Philipp Dettmer
-
Transformer
- The Deep Chemistry of Life and Death
- Written by: Nick Lane
- Narrated by: Richard Trinder
- Length: 10 hrs and 55 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
For decades, biology has been dominated by the study of genetic information. Information is important, but it is only part of what makes us alive. Our inheritance also includes our living metabolic network, a flame passed from generation to generation, right back to the origin of life. In Transformer, biochemist Nick Lane reveals a scientific renaissance that is hiding in plain sight-how the same simple chemistry gives rise to life and causes our demise.
-
-
Great book. Terrible reader
- By Ghost Dog on 2023-04-26
Written by: Nick Lane
-
An Immense World
- How Animal Senses Reveal the Hidden Realms Around Us
- Written by: Ed Yong
- Narrated by: Ed Yong
- Length: 14 hrs and 17 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
The Earth teems with sights and textures, sounds and vibrations, smells and tastes, electric and magnetic fields. But every kind of animal, including humans, is enclosed within its own unique sensory bubble, perceiving but a tiny sliver of our immense world. In An Immense World, Ed Yong coaxes us beyond the confines of our own senses, allowing us to perceive the skeins of scent, waves of electromagnetism, and pulses of pressure that surround us.
-
-
An intense book
- By Carsandgunns on 2024-10-20
Written by: Ed Yong
-
The Gene
- An Intimate History
- Written by: Siddhartha Mukherjee
- Narrated by: Dennis Boutsikaris
- Length: 19 hrs and 22 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
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.
-
-
A book to be read, again and again.
- By Rob on 2017-11-04
Written by: Siddhartha Mukherjee
-
The Laws of Medicine
- Written by: Siddhartha Mukherjee
- Narrated by: Santino Fontana
- Length: 1 hr and 44 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
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.
-
-
Problems identified but few solutions
- By P. on 2023-01-24
Written by: Siddhartha Mukherjee
-
The Emperor of All Maladies
- A Biography of Cancer
- Written by: Siddhartha Mukherjee
- Narrated by: Fred Sanders
- Length: 22 hrs and 18 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
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".
-
-
A tough one to get through, but super worthy.
- By Dani on 2018-04-07
Written by: Siddhartha Mukherjee
-
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
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
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.
-
-
truly exceeded my expectations.
- By Siavash Mehrabi on 2024-06-07
Written by: Philipp Dettmer
-
Transformer
- The Deep Chemistry of Life and Death
- Written by: Nick Lane
- Narrated by: Richard Trinder
- Length: 10 hrs and 55 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
For decades, biology has been dominated by the study of genetic information. Information is important, but it is only part of what makes us alive. Our inheritance also includes our living metabolic network, a flame passed from generation to generation, right back to the origin of life. In Transformer, biochemist Nick Lane reveals a scientific renaissance that is hiding in plain sight-how the same simple chemistry gives rise to life and causes our demise.
-
-
Great book. Terrible reader
- By Ghost Dog on 2023-04-26
Written by: Nick Lane
-
An Immense World
- How Animal Senses Reveal the Hidden Realms Around Us
- Written by: Ed Yong
- Narrated by: Ed Yong
- Length: 14 hrs and 17 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
The Earth teems with sights and textures, sounds and vibrations, smells and tastes, electric and magnetic fields. But every kind of animal, including humans, is enclosed within its own unique sensory bubble, perceiving but a tiny sliver of our immense world. In An Immense World, Ed Yong coaxes us beyond the confines of our own senses, allowing us to perceive the skeins of scent, waves of electromagnetism, and pulses of pressure that surround us.
-
-
An intense book
- By Carsandgunns on 2024-10-20
Written by: Ed Yong
-
I Contain Multitudes
- The Microbes Within Us and a Grander View of Life
- Written by: Ed Yong
- Narrated by: Charlie Anson
- Length: 9 hrs and 52 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
Joining the ranks of popular science classics like The Botany of Desire and The Selfish Gene, a groundbreaking, wondrously informative, and vastly entertaining examination of the most significant revolution in biology since Darwin - a "microbe's-eye view" of the world that reveals a marvelous, radically reconceived picture of life on Earth.
-
-
Author’s infectious passion
- By Amazon Customer on 2023-07-12
Written by: Ed Yong
-
Brave New Words
- How AI Will Revolutionize Education (and Why That's a Good Thing)
- Written by: Salman Khan
- Narrated by: Salman Khan
- Length: 6 hrs and 37 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
Whether we like it or not, the AI revolution is coming to education. In Brave New Words, Salman Khan, the visionary behind Khan Academy, explores how artificial intelligence and GPT technology will transform learning, and offers a road map for teachers, parents, and students to navigate this exciting (and sometimes intimidating) new world. A pioneer in the field of education technology, Khan examines the ins and outs of these cutting-edge tools and how they will revolutionize the way we learn and teach.
-
-
Mostly a publicity for Khan academy + sound quality not professional
- By Maxime Tanguay on 2024-06-19
Written by: Salman Khan
-
Invention and Innovation
- A Brief History of Hype and Failure
- Written by: Vaclav Smil
- Narrated by: Tim Fannon
- Length: 7 hrs and 56 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
The world is never finished catching up with Vaclav Smil. In his latest and perhaps most digestible book, Invention and Innovation, the prolific author—a favorite of Bill Gates—pens an insightful and fact-filled jaunt through the history of human invention. Impatient with the hype that so often accompanies innovation, Smil offers in this book a clear-eyed corrective to the overpromises that accompany everything from new cures for diseases to AI.
Written by: Vaclav Smil
-
Not the End of the World
- How We Can Be the First Generation to Build a Sustainable Planet
- Written by: Hannah Ritchie
- Narrated by: Hannah Ritchie PhD
- Length: 9 hrs and 26 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
It’s become common to tell kids that they’re going to die from climate change. We are constantly bombarded by doomsday headlines that tell us the soil won’t be able to support crops, fish will vanish from our oceans, and that we should reconsider having children.
-
-
Refreshing view on environmental issues
- By coach amanda on 2024-09-16
Written by: Hannah Ritchie
-
Outlive
- The Science and Art of Longevity
- Written by: Peter Attia MD, Bill Gifford - contributor
- Narrated by: Peter Attia MD
- Length: 17 hrs and 7 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
Wouldn’t you like to live longer? And better? In this operating manual for longevity, Dr. Peter Attia draws on the latest science to deliver innovative nutritional interventions, techniques for optimizing exercise and sleep, and tools for addressing emotional and mental health.
-
-
Not what I was expecting
- By stuck in Mobay on 2023-07-20
Written by: Peter Attia MD, and others
-
The Epigenetics Revolution
- How Modern Biology Is Rewriting Our Understanding of Genetics, Disease, and Inheritance
- Written by: Nessa Carey
- Narrated by: Donna Postel
- Length: 11 hrs and 16 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
Epigenetics can potentially revolutionize our understanding of the structure and behavior of biological life on Earth. It explains why mapping an organism's genetic code is not enough to determine how it develops or acts and shows how nurture combines with nature to engineer biological diversity. Surveying the 20-year history of the field while also highlighting its latest findings and innovations, this volume provides a readily understandable introduction to the foundations of epigenetics.
-
-
Intelligence in the Design?
- By Allen Barrow on 2017-11-14
Written by: Nessa Carey
-
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
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
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.
-
-
a masterpiece, phenomenally wrotton
- By Amazon Customer on 2021-10-11
Written by: Matt Richtel
-
Otherlands
- A Journey Through Earth's Extinct Worlds
- Written by: Thomas Halliday
- Narrated by: Adetomiwa Edun
- Length: 11 hrs and 6 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
The past is past, but it does leave clues, and Thomas Halliday has used cutting-edge science to decipher them more completely than ever before. In Otherlands, Halliday makes sixteen fossil sites burst to life.
-
-
Amazing and humbling.
- By Geneviève on 2023-02-22
Written by: Thomas Halliday
-
The Rise and Reign of the Mammals
- A New History, from the Shadow of the Dinosaurs to Us
- Written by: Steve Brusatte
- Narrated by: Patrick Lawlor
- Length: 13 hrs and 25 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
We humans are the inheritors of a dynasty that has reigned over the planet for nearly 66 million years, through fiery cataclysm and ice ages: the mammals. Our lineage includes saber-toothed tigers, woolly mammoths, armadillos the size of a car, cave bears three times the weight of a grizzly, clever scurriers that outlasted Tyrannosaurus rex, and even other types of humans, like Neanderthals.
-
-
Excellent Follow Up That Stands On It’s Own
- By Sebastian on 2022-07-12
Written by: Steve Brusatte
-
Emotional
- How Feelings Shape Our Thinking
- Written by: Leonard Mlodinow
- Narrated by: Dan John Miller
- Length: 7 hrs and 54 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
You make hundreds of decisions every day, from what to eat for breakfast to how you should invest, and not one of them could be made without the essential component of emotion. It has long been held that thinking and feeling are separate and opposing forces in our behavior. But as Leonard Mlodinow, the best-selling author of Subliminal, tells us, extraordinary advances in psychology and neuroscience have proven that emotions are as critical to our well-being as is rational thinking.
Written by: Leonard Mlodinow
-
The Code Breaker
- Jennifer Doudna, Gene Editing, and the Future of the Human Race
- Written by: Walter Isaacson
- Narrated by: Kathe Mazur, Walter Isaacson
- Length: 16 hrs and 4 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
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.
-
-
Not Historical or Balanced
- By Wandering on 2021-04-03
Written by: Walter Isaacson
-
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
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
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.
-
-
I learned so much!
- By AnLea on 2019-07-05
Written by: Thomas Hager
What the critics say
"This is the second of Mukherjee’s audiobooks that Dennis Boutsikaris has narrated, after 2017’s THE GENE. In this expansive history of the researchers who unlocked the mysteries of the cell, Boutsikaris demonstrates again the importance of an experienced narrator in shaping a complex narrative. Using many of his skills as a narrator of bestselling thrillers, Boutsikaris shades a syllable here, adds a degree of emphasis there, heightening and bringing dramatic tension to a history that is already skillfully told and highly accessible but, at times, unavoidably dense. This is a narrative to digest slowly, step by step. The chapters are conveniently brief, and it’s no effort to listen to such an adept performer a second, even a third, time."—AudioFile Magazine
What listeners say about The Song of the Cell
Average Customer RatingsReviews - Please select the tabs below to change the source of reviews.
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
- afsaneh
- 2023-06-16
Another success
Never fails to fascinate! I’m always in awe of the depth of your knowledge and curiosity! Thank you for making me want to be a better human with a hunger for knowledge
Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.
You voted on this review!
You reported this review!
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
- Pierre Gauthier
- 2023-01-15
Fascinating!
This very well written work deals with the cell as the basic component of life. It starts with a discussion of the structure and functioning of individual cells and goes on to tissues and organs. In each case, descriptive elements are weaved with the history of their discovery as well as with malfunctions and their current or potential treatment. The author includes cases that he has encountered in his own practice as a doctor and even touches on his own health problems, with appropriate reserve and discretion.
The resulting offering is extremely informative and absolutely calls for a second listening.
Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.
You voted on this review!
You reported this review!
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
- Rob
- 2023-04-05
Outstanding
An absolutely outstanding review of current knowledge in cell biology written in a most digestible manner. Even as a health professional with many years of experience and an academic background, I found this book to be a wealth of knowledge. In fact, I would suggest it as required reading for any student of biomedical science.
Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.
You voted on this review!
You reported this review!
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
- seb
- 2023-01-24
Loved this book
Very interesting. Well explained. The reader has the perfect voice for this content. I have read or listened to all Mukherjee’s books. All are fascinating.
Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.
You voted on this review!
You reported this review!
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
- Amazon Customer
- 2023-01-21
Another winner
Poetic science and a history lesson as well.
Truly gifted
Wish I’d had him as a professor in university
Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.
You voted on this review!
You reported this review!