The Emperor of All Maladies: A Biography of Cancer

Simultaneously horrifying and compelling. How could a book about such a horrible disease be such a page turner but it is. The story is riddled with personal anecdotes and stories about how the treatment of cancer progressed step by painful step. Learning how cancer cells work was a revelation but not for the unscientific minded. The review of transcription and how retroviruses work can be daunting but worth the attention. The fact that at any moment the genes of one cell can be influenced by various external factors, change their configuration, free itself from the normal constraints of the body and go wild, is a sobering thought. The thought I am left with is that these cancer cells are like evil dopplegangers lurking in the shadows to take over my body. If you are going to listen to one non-fiction book this year, this should be it.

I am a physician and purchased this book thinking that it might be an interesting read. I had read an excerpt, and recognized the author to be a physician who sincerely cares about his patients. I expected to find an empathetic story of suffering and pain. There was some of that, but there was also much about the legacy of cancer, its history, our feeble efforts to treat it and what may lie ahead.
This book is well written and would appeal to those medically trained or not.

The best book I have ever read or listened to on this subject, or actually any non fiction subject. The writing is exceptional and the narration flawless. If you have any concerns or interest in your health this book is a must!

Having experience the death of our 9 year old to kidney cancer I have read A LOT on the subject. This book is absolutely 5 stars, the author tackles a complicated subject, weaves the technical science, historical timeline and array orcharacters together is an very gettable and captivating manner. This book felt accurate, sincere and left me with a sense of informational empowerment!

I am in awe of how the author made this such a captivating work--He gives so many perspectives on cancer: The personal (his own patients), anthropological (evidence in ancient cultures), historical, and political, with current research and some conjecture about future directions in research and treatment. The fact that it became an instant bestseller can partly be attributed to how many peoples' lives are affected by this disease, but also by what a brilliant book this is.
Audio version is well read.

A fascinating story that unfolds with great detail and sympathy and plot and character: on short, a wonderful "listen," all related in in clear, uncomplicated prose that is totally comprehensible to someone without medical training. Wonderfully read by Stephen Hoye. Not one minute is dull...it is the audio equivalent of a page turner.

Both technical and non-technical listeners will find this an interesting for it's chronological account of he advances in Cancer Research. This is informative and speaks a great deal to our political and social biases and assumptions as they pertain to scientific research.

A complicated topic of cancer made sounderstandable-- I could not even imagine.
I will be on look out for new books from Mr Mukherjee .

I completely agree with all the other enthusiastic reviewers. This book gives and gives and I find myself rereading sections and absorbing more and more.

The ending is climactic, dramatic, like the ending of an opera or symphony, and the narrator is pitch-perfect, striking just the right tone, especially towards the latter half of the book, I guess warming to his subject.

I'm going to look for more from both this writer and narrator.

My wife is in the fight of her life. We both felt like she brought cancer, ugly life ruining cancer, to our home. The guilt was almost as bad as the disease. Thanks to this fantastic page turner of a book, we now know and understand at least 131 reasons why cancer kills (a slight attempt at humor, there are thousands of reasons), and none of them were chosen by us. We also know the fight is doable and many people, with lots of help, win the cancer battle. Not only is this book important, it is actually a pleasure to read. I listened to the audio version, then bought a hard copy and am halfway back through it. In my mind this is a GREAT BOOK.