Scientist and physician Siddhartha Mukherjee, author of The Emperor of All Maladies, calls his book a biography of cancer rather than simply a history. The author explores a wide range of research, historical accounts, and personal stories in this intensive look at the backstory of cancer. This includes the evolution of cancer’s nature, treatment, and the scientific and medical communities’ understanding of the disease as well as the support of the public and politicians in the crucial fight to find a cure.
The author examines historical accounts of cancer, focusing mostly on events dating from the 1940s to present time. Along the way, he discusses how cancer research evolved and how the perceptions of the disease and its impact on the world changed with each account. Over time, proposed causes for cancer ran the gamut, some of which are proven to be true to this day, while others remain confined to the history books…
