The Cancer Chronicles
Unlocking Medicine's Deepest Mystery

Quotes

“Among a small cluster of very good recent books on cancer, including The Emperor of All Maladies, by Siddhartha Mukherjee; The Philadelphia Chromosome, by Jessica Wapner; and The Truth in Small Doses, by Clifton Leaf, Johnson’s stands out as especially illuminating, forceful and, in its own quiet way, profound.”
—The New York Times Book Review
 
“The ideal primer for those who want to know the real story of cancer, rather than the version that is usually presented in the media.”
—The Economist

“Johnson’s fine work…[is] an important one.”
—The Atlantic
 
 “Incisive…The Cancer Chronicles delivers an astute, vivid biography of perhaps the oldest, most complex disease on Earth, and a poignant account of a contemporary couple’s struggle against it.”
—NPR

“A highly captivating book that meticulously explains the current scientific understanding of cancer….George Johnson has captured the curiosity and empathy that drives scientists to tackle this calamitous disease.”
—The Times Literary Supplement
 
“Johnson writes with imaginative flair about the whole range of the cancer experience.”
—Bloomberg Businessweek

“A provocative and also a personal exploration of the myths and misunderstandings that surround this most formidable enemy to our health and well being.”
—Mother Jones

 “Richly informative, unerringly balanced and undeniably compelling.”
—Shelf Awareness

“This elegant and insightful chronicle is at once intensely personal and meticulously studious…This is extraordinary scholarship delivered with an intimate poignancy.”
—Publishers Weekly

“A thorough and nuanced presentation of the state of [cancer] science, refreshing in its honest appraisal that the war is far from over.”
—Kirkus Reviews

“It is very rare to find a writer who can weave a compelling narrative that combines the intrinsically fascinating nature of cancer with its peculiar horror. George Johnson has penetrated the arcane world of cancer biology and oncology and exposed the bewilderment and frustration felt by researchers and clinicians grappling to understand and control this pervasive disease. He makes a convincing case that the field is floundering because we are thinking about the problem the wrong way. Cancer touches every family on the planet. For those who want to gain some serious insights into the subject, this book is a great place to start.”
—Paul Davies, Principal Investigator, Center for Convergence of Physical Science and Cancer Biology

“This compact, elegant book is really three books: a memoir of a year in Cancerland, a shrewd investigation into what’s known (and not known) about this still-mysterious condition, and a gripping account of coming to terms with living in a universe that includes a deadly disease with no predictable cause. Everyone who is concerned about cancer—that is, every thinking adult—should read The Cancer Chronicles.”
—Charles C. Mann, author 1491

“The Cancer Chronicles is a rich and sweeping exploration of the history, prehistory, and future of cancer, all anchored in harrowing personal experience. Surprisingly—and especially gratifying to me as a former biologist—it is also an appreciation of cancer as a cellular strategy and a rebellion against the tyranny of the multicellular body. Completely accessible to the lay reader, this is a book for anyone whose life has been touched by cancer, which is just about everyone.”
—Barbara Ehrenreich, author, Nickel and Dimed

“George Johnson, like a science-writing alchemist, transforms his fear—fueled by his wife Nancy’s metastatic-cancer diagnosis—into gold, in the form of a well-written and thoroughly researched exploration of the current state of cancer science. Johnson journeys through labs bent on cracking cancer’s code, ferreting out its causes, its molecular eccentricities, and its treatment. His wife’s struggle with the disease serves as a constant touchstone without subsuming his sober treatment of evidence, data, and reason.”
—Bob Grant, The Scientist
 
“A masterpiece of clarity.” —New York Journal of Books
 
“A fascinating compilation of selected discoveries in cancer research…The book succeeds because Johnson’s writing conveys his passion about the science.”
—Mary L. Disis, Science