The Emperor of All Maladies

The book begins with early references to tumours in ancient Egypt and Persia and moves through the centuries of surgery and theory that followed. Mukherjee describes the rise of radical surgery in the nineteenth century, the first experiments with chemotherapy for children with leukaemia in the twentieth, the campaigns to fund cancer research and the long struggle to prove the link between smoking and lung cancer.

Later chapters explain the discovery of the genes involved in cancer and the development of targeted drugs, which have transformed the treatment of some forms of the disease. Throughout, Mukherjee weaves in the stories of patients he has treated, especially a woman with leukaemia whose courage frames the book. The subject is serious and sometimes sad, but the writing is compassionate, clear and often hopeful. Readers who have been affected by cancer may find parts of it emotional.

Moving, illuminating and beautifully written, one of the most admired science books of its time. It explains complex ideas without oversimplifying, and readers with no scientific background can follow it easily. About 608 pages in the Scribner paperback.