Pulitzer Prize General Non Fiction Winner
The Emperor of All Maladies
by Siddhartha Mukherjee
Summary
A sweeping "biography" of cancer, following the disease from ancient Egyptian descriptions through the rise of chemotherapy, radiation, and modern targeted genetics. Mukherjee, a practicing oncologist, braids the science with the stories of researchers, activists, and his own patients to give the disease a narrative arc. The book made an immensely complex subject accessible to general readers without sacrificing rigor.
”
Historical Context & Significance
Mukherjee, an oncologist, turned a complex medical subject into a bestseller by treating the disease as a living, evolving "character" in human history.