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The Philadelphia Chromosome: A Mutant Gene and the Quest to Cure Cancer at the Genetic Level Audiobook
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Publisher Description
Almost daily, headlines announce newly discovered links between cancers and their genetic causes. Science journalist Jessica Wapner vividly relates the backstory behind those headlines, reconstructing the crucial breakthroughs, explaining the science behind them, and giving due to the dozens of researchers, doctors, and patients whose curiosity and determination restored the promise of a future to the more than 50,000 people diagnosed each year with chronic myeloid leukemia (CML). It is an astonishing tale that will provide victims of other cancers and their loved ones realistic hope that cures may yet be found in their lifetimes. The Philadelphia Chromosome charts the milestones that led to present-day cancer treatment and tells the inspiring story of the dedicated men and women who, working individually and in concert, have sought to plum the mysteries of the human genome in order to conquer those deadly and most feared diseases called cancer.
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“Jessica Wapner has done two kinds of hard work gracefully: the hard work of understanding cancer genetics and the hard work of rendering that subject into human narrative, lucid explanation, and metaphor. The Philadelphia Chromosome is not just an urgently useful book. It’s also an elegant one, put together like a Swiss watch.”
— David Quammen, New York Times bestselling author of Spillover
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“The story of the Philadelphia chromosome is truly the story of modern cancer biology…Jessica Wapner stitches the whole story together with tenacity, diligence (and humor). This is a wonderful, readable, and highly informative book.”
— Siddhartha Mukherjee, Pulitzer Prize–winning author of The Emperor of All Maladies -
“Clearly explains how a half-century’s worth of research transformed a viciously lethal form of cancer into a chronic, treatable condition. Jessica Wapner’s meticulously researched book is both a real-life medical thriller and an engaging narrative about the history of modern cancer research.”
— Seth Mnookin, New York Times bestselling author of Feeding the Monster -
“The way Wapner repeatedly adds up preceding steps to build to the scientific breakthrough is masterful, making for compulsive, surprisingly emotional reading."
— Scientist -
“As science writer Jessica Wapner reveals in this taut, elegant study, a cascade of breakthroughs then led to success with targeted drug Gleevec, a tyrosine kinase inhibitor—and hopes for the cancer-busting potential of rational drug design in general.”
— Nature -
“[Wapner’s] gracefully written history skillfully combines both the science and humanity of this fascinating search for a cure for CML.”
— Publishers Weekly -
“An excellent book for those who want to learn more about how medical discoveries are made and those interested in recent medical history, as well as those whose lives are affected by CML.”
— Library Journal -
“An absorbing, complex medical detective story.”
— Kirkus Reviews -
“Beautifully written…a blueprint for broader healthcare change. A pivotal book.”
— David B. Agus, MD, professor of medicine and engineering, University of Southern California, and author of The End of Illness
Awards
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A Publishers Weekly Top 10 Book, Spring 2013
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About Jessica Wapner
Jessica Wapner is a journalist and former science editor at Newsweek whose work has appeared in the New Yorker, New York Times, Wired, Medium, Discover, Popular Science, Self, Scientific American, New York magazine, The Atlantic, and elsewhere. Her first book, The Philadelphia Chromosome, was named a top ten nonfiction book by the Wall Street Journal.
About Heather Henderson
Heather Henderson is a voice talent, theater critic, and dramaturg. In addition to narrating audiobooks, she has voiced hundreds of commercial and educational projects, and her arts reviews and poems have appeared in newspapers and magazines across the country. She holds MFA and DFA degrees from the Yale School of Drama. She lives in Oregon.