The End of the Beginning, Michael Kinch
The End of the Beginning, Michael Kinch
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The End of the Beginning

Author: Michael Kinch

Narrator: Mel Foster

Unabridged: 14 hr 50 min

Format: Digital Audiobook Download

Published: 05/20/2019


Synopsis

For the first time since a fifth-century Greek physician gave the name “cancer” (karkinos, in Greek) to a deadly disease first described in Egyptian Papyri, the medical world is near a breakthrough that could allow even the most conservative doctors and pragmatic patients to use the other “c word”—cure—in the same sentence as cancer. A remarkable series of events has brought us to this point, thanks in large part to a new ability to more efficiently harness the extraordinary power of the human immune system. The End of the Beginning is a remarkable history of cancer treatment and the evolution of our understanding of its dynamic interplay with the immune system. Through Michael Kinch’s personal experience as a cancer researcher at Washington University and the head of the oncology program at a leading biotechnology company, we witness the incredible accumulation of breakthrough science and its rapid translation into life-saving technologies that have begun to dramatically increase the quality and quantity of life for cancer patients. Expanding upon Kinch’s own remarkable projects to encompass the vaccines being deployed to eliminate cervical cancer and the development of cancer-specific “smart bombs” in the form of monoclonal antibodies, cellular therapies, and checkpoint inhibitors, The End of the Beginning reveals the incredible transformation of cancer treatment happening today.

About Michael Kinch

Michael Kinch is a professor and vice chancellor at Washington University in St. Louis and the author of A Prescription for Change. Previously, he was a professor at Purdue University and a founder of the oncology program at the biotechnology company MedImmune.

About Mel Foster

Mel Foster is a former ad agency executive who used to record test tracks for commercials. An audiobook narrator since 2002, he won an Audie Award for Philip Yancey's Finding God in Unexpected Places and an Earphones Award for Bob Mitchell's Match Made in Heaven. He is the author of several novels, including Shaking Hands with Lefkowitz, and he hopes listeners will hear him read his own work someday.


Reviews

Goodreads review by Richie on August 08, 2019

A good primer on the development of immuno-oncology, but muddied by numerous long-winded historical asides and lack of thematic progression between chapters. A glossary and immunology schematics would have been helpful; also some editorial presence to eliminate typos and run-on sentences.......more

Goodreads review by Maja on November 18, 2021

Very interesting review of the most recent studies in cancer cure and well researched compiled history of the disease. Some parts could be tightened up but it's probably aimed at those who are not well-versed in the subject.......more

Goodreads review by Mary | maryreadstoomuch on December 07, 2019

I enjoyed this history of cancer immunotherapy- some sections could be tightened up, but overall an interesting, well-written book.......more

Goodreads review by Brad Sherman on December 10, 2021

Lots of good info and very interesting but the large number of things that should have been noticed during editing tended to disrupt the flow.......more