“THE SONG OF THE CELL” BY SIDDHARTHA MUKHERJEE

Many reviewers of Siddhartha Mukherjee say that his writing is lyrical, poetic, and suspenseful and they are one hundred per cent correct. They are all those things, but to me (and probably many others) he makes the byzantine and perplexing nature of medicine and biology understandable to the average person.

I have sat in on many pre-med courses and was a faithful subscriber to “Scientific American” for over thirty years and yet I am lucky if I came away from the classes and the reading of the magazine understanding 25 per cent of what was discussed and I have probably retained one per cent of the material over the years.

Yet like his previous works, “The Emperor of All Maladies, and “The Gene” Mr. Mukherjee’s latest non-fiction book, “The Song Of The Cell,”is another mesmerizing, beautifully written, intensely researched, personal, and totally understandable book on the history and the functions of human cells. Whereas blood is often considered the lifeline of a living and functioning human being, it is the cells in humans, and in almost all living creatures, that are the protector, educator, and in the end the undertaker.

Mr. Mukherjee’s detailed analysis and functions of cells and the knowledge and the intense research into cells that is currently going on will very possibly lead to the future cures of diseases and viruses that have plagued humankind since the very beginning of time.

For anyone truly interested in medicine, biology, and the future treatments and survival of the human species, “The Song Of The Cell,” is a must read, as are his two previous books.