The Emperor of All Maladies: A Biography of Cancer is a groundbreaking and compassionate chronicle of cancer’s past, present, and future, written by award-winning physician and researcher Dr. Siddhartha Mukherjee.
Blending scientific insight, medical history, and patient narratives, this masterful work traces the disease from its earliest recorded appearances thousands of years ago to the dramatic battles fought by doctors, researchers, and patients in the modern age.
Mukherjee explores:
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The first documented cases of cancer in ancient texts
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The rise of radical surgery, chemotherapy, and targeted treatments
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The social, political, and financial forces shaping cancer research
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Personal stories of struggle, survival, and loss
Called the “biography” of cancer, the book presents the disease not just as a medical condition, but as a historical character—an ever-evolving opponent that reflects our deepest fears, limitations, and hopes.
Winner of the 2011 Pulitzer Prize for General Non-fiction, this book is essential reading for anyone interested in medicine, human resilience, and the extraordinary complexity of cancer.
