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Nov
16
Book Review: The Emperor of All Maladies by Siddhartha Mukherjee
2010 at 5am Posted by Rebecca Joines Schinsky
Published November 16, 2010 by Scribner
Screw the suspense, I’m just going to start with this: If you are going to read one work of nonfiction this year (or in the next five years), make it The Emperor of All Maladies, Siddhartha Mukherjee’s breathtaking “biography of cancer.”
Framed by the story of his own experiences with cancer patients, Mukherjee sets out to “enter the mind of this immortal illness, to understand its behavior, to demystify its psyche” and to “imagine and reconstruct the ‘empire’ of cancer, and to populate that nation with voices, myths, personalities, and a story.” And he succeeds on all counts. Mukherjee stages cancer as the subject of this comprehensive narrative that presents the evolution of our understanding of cancer and its treatment in terms that are “simple but not simplistic” and turns them into the kind of pageturner you’re more accustomed to finding on the mystery shelves of your local bookstore.
Mukherjee tells the story of cancer’s reign of terror in dual narratives that move between the big picture history of theories and hypotheses about what causes cancer (and the treatments these theories inspired) and mini-biographies of the individuals whose research, medical practices, and political efforts changed the scientific understanding and public perception of it. This book is just as much a roll call of the courageous men and women who were bold enough to question accepted theories and point out a lack of supporting evidence for them as it is a history of technological developments and serendipitous encounters that changed the course of formal inquiry into cancer and its treatment.
Mukherjee describes the cowboy surgeons whose work in radical medicine pushed the boundaries of ethics and ego and the quiet individuals who toiled in basement labs, under-appreciated and unacknowledged, to make discoveries that saved lives and changed medicine. He presents the pioneering group of cancer lobbyists whose brilliant idea it was to create the “war on cancer” and frame the disease as an enemy to be conquered in order to raise awareness, sympathy, and, most important, funds for research. And it is all terribly interesting and well-written and more than a little bit mind-blowing.
There’s also a thorough history of the ways in which social changes impacted the study, treatment, and measurement of cancer (see: the relation between political feminism, medical feminism, and the decline of the radical mastectomy) and a meditation on the ways in which our fears about illness reflect our deeper fears about ourselves and our society.
But the real heart of The Emperor of All Maladies, the thing that makes it truly outstanding, is Mukherjee’s recognition of the fact that all of the progress and discovery and development come at the cost of human suffering and that, without cancer patients, there would be no story to tell here.
A patient, long before he becomes the subject of medical scrutiny, is, at first, simply a storyteller, a narrator of suffering—a traveler who has visited the kingdom of the ill.
Mukherjee’s humility and gratitude, and his empathy for and connection to his patients—and cancer patients in general—make this already remarkable book a must-read. The Emperor of All Maladies will captivate and educate you and force you to acknowledge the difference between knowing of something and truly knowing about it. Mukherjee’s writing is masterful, and he conveys technical information in the wonderful style adopted by the best professors, who know how to break a difficult subject into manageable pieces and keep you so fascinated that you hardly notice how much your mind is absorbing. And the clever chapter titles that refer to Alice’s Adventures in Wonderland and the way cancer turns our world topsy-turvy aren’t bad, either.
There are simply not enough superlatives for this book, and if I were to create a “required reading for life” list, The Emperor of All Maladies would earn a spot near the top. This one gets a very enthusiastic 5 out of 5 and an urge to go buy it. Now.
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Oh, amazing! I’m so glad it’s as good as I’ve heard it is. The subject is really close to my heart and it sounds like Mukherjee captures the complex mix of emotions and science of cancer. I put in in my library queue as soon as it became available, but I’m already 81st in line with no copies available yet.
Bethany´s last [type] ..The Grotesques that live near me
[...] This post was mentioned on Twitter by Rebecca Schinsky and A Books Blog, Sharjah Book Fair. Sharjah Book Fair said: Book Review: The Emperor of All Maladies by Siddhartha Mukherjee | The Book Lady's Blog http://t.co/3ApFIVH [...]
This book sounds wonderful. At 24 my husband was diagnosed with cancer, and it ruined our lives for years. The quote that you included about the cancer patients as storytellers made me tear up-beautifully written and very true.
Maladies sounds wonderful, and I am anxious to pick it up. Thanks for the review!
So glad you reviewed this! I first read book reviews of this when it came out, though it intimidates me that it’s the biography of cancer. However, given that you liked it, I’m going to have to reconsider!
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This is a spectacular book. I read 100 books a year and this is definitely in the top 10. It is very, very well written and, in some ways, it is like a mystery book. The way the book is written, we follow the stream of research and clinical medical treatment over 150 years. It’s like feeling around in the dark for a bomb that we know will go off. It is simultaneously horrifying and compelling. I am a doctor and think I am compassionate towards my patients. This book increased my compassion 10X. …more This is a spectacular book. I read 100 books a year and this is definitely in the top 10. It is very, very well written and, in some ways, it is like a mystery. The way the book is written, we follow the stream of research and clinical medical treatment over 150 years. It’s like feeling around in the dark for a bomb that we know will go off. It is simultaneously horrifying and compelling. I am a doctor and think I am compassionate towards my patients. This book increased my compassion 10X. What surprised me the most was the politics involved in attempting to cure a disease that potentially affects everyone. Surgeons want to cut and oncologists want to drug. They each have their turf and don’t want to give it up. The fact that 50% of all men and 33% of all women will get some form of cancer before they die is a very sobering one. The section on the evilness of the tobacco industry was particularly illuminating. It’s hard to believe that a book like this is a page turner.
could you let me know where can i read the empire of all melodies in a nut shell
You mean like a CliffNotes version? I don’t think that would work. This is a long book, but well worth the time spent reading it.
Thank you for posting your thoughts. I am still reading Maladies. At times it is hard to stomach. But, it is a interesting read of where it was discovered and how far we have come with research. I have learned so much about chemo, and the politics. Especially for me, growing up in the 60′s, most people thought cancer was a germ originally, but now most people realize it is a mutation of a gene. It is amazing to see and remember how far we have come. What research has done. I was a nurse in the 80′s and 90′s this is very intriguing and is a page turner, to find out what happens next. I still have a long way to go to finish it . But, I wanted to tell you that I agree with you as far as I have read.
Susan´s last [type] ..Little Bride: Book Review
[...] by Siddhartha Mukherjee. I haven’t read this one yet, but Rebecca at Book Lady’s blog describes it this way: “Framed by the story of his own experiences with cancer patients, Mukherjee sets [...]
[...] The Book Lady’s Blog: “Mukherjee’s humility and gratitude, and his empathy for and connection to his patients—and cancer patients in general—make this already remarkable book a must-read.” [...]