Read This: Books on Science and Medicine
Readers are enjoying these fascinating books about science, medicine and society. The Emperor of all Maladies: A Biography of Cancer by Siddhartha Mukherjee, a cancer physician, researcher and award-winning writer. Most of us are touched in some way by this disease, and Mukherjee tells the story of cancer and how it has impacted humanity for more than 5,000 years.
The Immortal Life of Henrietta Lacks by Rebecca Skloot remains popular with our readers. Upon the death of Henrietta Lacks of cancer in the 1950s, doctors harvested her cells for research without her family's knowledge. Though the basis of valuable research, scientists grapple with the ethical implications of profiting from human cells harvested without consent.
The Poisoner's Handbook: Murder and the Birth of Forensic Medicine in Jazz Age New York by Deborah Blum describes of the birth of forensic science to aide in the investigation of suspicious deaths. As crime rose in New York in the 1920s and 30s, scientists began to use chemistry to determine if, how and when a murder had been committed. This book offers an interesting blend of science, police procedure, and history.
Check out some of these books in our collection and join the conversation!
Margaret D. Says: The Emporer of All Maladies: A Biography of Cancer
Amazon Says: The Emperor of All Maladies is a magnificent, profoundly humane “biography” of cancer—from its first documented appearances thousands of years ago through the epic battl...
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Margaret D. Says: The Immortal Life of Henrietta Lacks
Amazon Says: Her name was Henrietta Lacks, but scientists know her as HeLa. She was a poor Southern tobacco farmer who worked the same land as her slave ancestors, yet her cells—taken wi...
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Margaret D. Says: The Poisoner's Handbook: Murder and the Birth of Forensic Medicine in Jazz Age New York
Amazon Says: Video From "The Chemist's War" (Slate Magazine), by Deborah Blum Pulitzer Prize-winning science writer Deborah Blum follows New York City's first for...
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