Presents a history of cancer, from ancient times to the present day. Includes stories of contemporary patients and examines the latest scientific research which might indicate that we are on the brink of a lasting cure.

A stunning combination of medical history, cutting-edge science, and narrative journalism that transforms the listener's understanding of cancer and much of the world around them. Siddhartha Mukherjee provides a fascinating glimpse into the future of cancer treatments and offers a bold new perspective on the way doctors, scientists, philosophers, and lay people have observed and understood the human body for millennia.

From the Pulitzer Prize-winning, bestselling author of The Emperor of All Maladies, a magnificent history of the gene and a response to the defining question of the future: what becomes of being human when we learn to 'read' and 'write' our own genetic information?