For readers of Atul Gawande, Siddhartha Mukherjee, and Henry Marsh, a riveting, gorgeously written biography of one of history's most fascinating and confounding diseases -- Alzheimer's -- from its discovery more than 100 years ago to today's race towards a cure.
Alzheimer's is the great global epidemic of our time, affecting millions worldwide -- there are more than 5 million people diagnosed in the US alone. And as our population ages, scientists are working against the clock to find a cure.
Neuroscientist Joseph Jebelli is among them. His beloved grandfather had Alzheimer's and now he's written the book he needed then -- a very human history of this frightening disease. But In Pursuit of Memory is also a thrilling scientific detective story that takes you behind the headlines. Jebelli's quest takes us from nineteenth-century Germany and post-war England, to the jungles of Papua New Guinea and the technological proving grounds of Japan; through America, India, China, Iceland, Sweden, and Colombia. Its heroes are scientists from around the world -- many of whom he's worked with -- and the brave patients and families who have changed the way that researchers think about the disease.
This compelling insider's account shows vividly why Jebelli feels so hopeful about a cure, but also why our best defense in the meantime is to understand the disease. In Pursuit of Memory is a clever, moving, eye-opening guide to the threat one in three of us faces now.
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"An elegant and precise writer, Jebelli follows every lead for a cure with the panache of a detective novelist, giving readers much to hope for despite the devastation Alzheimer's has left in its wake. Based on his meticulous and wide-ranging research, he makes a convincing argument that Alzheimer's will be defeated in the decades to come. Jebelli analyzes every facet of Alzheimer's with personal empathy and scientific rigor, a combination that makes for enthralling reading."
— Kirkus (starred review)
An elegant, thorough, compelling and touchingly personal biography of the disease.
— Wall Street JournalAn overview of Alzheimer's that never once sacrifices the human story for the scientific one. . . . Sensitive, humanizing, and poetic...a masterful overview of the disease.
— NPRJebelli's exploration of the vexed science of Alzheimer's is lucid and emotionally rich in its portrayal of those who investigate the illness and those who endure it.
— Publishers Weekly (starred review)In Pursuit of Memory is a remarkable combination of fine writing, personal honesty, and deep scientific insight - about a devastating and baffling disease that is becoming all too common. Jebelli weighs up all the evidence and all the theories about Alzheimer's and even allows us a glimpse of optimism about a cure.
— Matt RidleyJoseph Jebelli's wonderfully clear, vividly readable and comprehensive survey of the search for a cure . . . The world is closing in on Alzheimer's. There is nowhere left for it to hide.
— The TimesA moving, sober and forensic study of the past, present and future of Alzheimer's from the point of view of a neurologist who has lived with the disease, at home and in the lab, from a very young age. The story Jebelli tells illustrates the tantalizing mystery of Alzheimer's: it's both highly visible yet agonizingly elusive...a timely analysis [that] might give comfort.
— ObserverAn accessible, diligently researched and well-travelled overview of the disease that is more deadly than cancer. Jebelli poignantly weaves the current science with the tragic stories of affected families, not least his own.
— Sunday TimesThe definitive portrait of Alzheimer's disease - an illness that is rapidly becoming the defining plague of the 21st century.
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Joseph Jebelli, PhD, obtained his doctorate in neurobiology from the Insitute of Neurology, University College London. His research focuses on the cell biology of Alzheimer’s disease.
Thomas Judd is a voice talent and Earphones Award–winning audio narrator.