Was lucky enough to get an advance copy of this via NetGalley - thanks again! Dr. Mukherjee has always been a fantastic writer, but this might be my favorite book that he's written so far. Cell biology was never my strongest subject when I was in high school, but Dr. Mukherjee goes through both the history and the concepts around cell biology in a way that makes it incredibly understandable, and then synthesizes it all by explaining relevant diseases, and possible treatments using cells (and why they do, or in some cases don't, work). I honestly would've loved to see a bit more information re CRISPR, personally, but that's the only area I found a bit lacking information wise. Definitely pick this up when it comes out at the end of October!

This was another beautiful work by Mukherjee. I've read his books on the gene and cancer and this book delves into cell biology and how cells work together in our bodies. As he writes: "genes are lifeless without cells" and the Song of the Cell shares the song of our cell biology.

This is a large book that can be technical at times; it took me a while to work through but I found it delightful. Mukherjee brings humanity into science in a way that other authors struggle to do. Since he is a medical doctor he is able to explain biological concepts by talking about patients and their struggles. I found his analogies between science and books/poems to be captivating and those analogies have stuck with me.

As a scientist, I really appreciated this passage from the book which highlights the humility scientists should have: "Scientists look, create, imagine - but find only incomplete explanations for phenomena, even phenomena we may have (partially) discovered through our own work."

If you are a fan of science then I highly recommend any of Mukherjee's works.

Thank you to Netgalley and the publisher for providing me with an eARC of this work!

There is one book that I measure all medical history books against and that is Emperor of All Maladies by Siddhartha Mukherjee, which details Dr Mukherjee’s experience as an oncologist against the background of the history of cancer. It won various awards, including a Pulitzer Prize (you can’t get too much better than that!)

Now, I am reading his fourth book, The Song of the Cell: An Exploration of Medicine and the New Human and I am just as enthralled with it as I was with his first book on cancer. Dr Mukherjee takes us through the discovery and description of the cell. I was familiar with most of the history, but I still found his lyrical descriptions to be captivating.

The whole book isn’t just a historical retrospective as he also discusses his (and his colleagues’) experiments into cell physiology.

Dr Mukherjee is amazing storyteller. He takes complex subjects and explains them in such a way that even those who don’t have a scientific background will enjoy the ride. As I read the book, I recognized a description that I had read in another book I had reviewed, “Immune: A Journey into the Mysterious System That Keeps You Alive” by Philipp Dettmer; it turns out that Dr Mukherjee cited Dettmer’s book in his notes section. Since Dettmer’s book was one of the best I’d read this year, I was pleased to see it included.

The Song of the Cell: An Exploration of Medicine and the New Human is highly recommended for both the novice and expert in cellular biology. You won’t be disappointed.

“Song of the Cell” is a deeply researched insight into the world of cell biology. It starts with the high school model of a cell that we all know and recognize and then starts adding depth and breadth to that basic concept. The most astonishing portions of the book are the human stories behind the discoveries and inventions that have prolonged human life. It’s a surprisingly emotional and poetic read for a subject seemingly as dry as cell biology. I would highly recommend this book

THE SONG OF THE CELL: AN EXPLORATION OF MEDICINE AND THE NEW HUMAN
BY: SIDDHARTHA MUKHERJEE

I knew that I was going to love this non-fiction exploration of the cell by the Pulitzer Prize Winning Author, Siddhartha Mukherjee. He won the Pulitzer Prize for his very first book, called "The Emperor of All Maladies." That one I ordered the DVD and for the life of me I cannot find it. It chronicles the history and causes of cancer. I had ordered the DVD because my mother was taken quickly from bone cancer. It has three DVD's and I was really impressed by how informative it was. I am going to read it in Kindle format right after I finish this review. I was super impressed by this current Title called, "The Song of the Cell: An Exploration of Medicine and the New Human". This was a very engrossing non-fiction, beautifully written book with an all encompassing history of everything to do with the cell. I really enjoyed this masterpiece and learned so much in an easy to comprehend manner.

Siddhartha Mukherjee is a Hematologist and an Oncologist who practices medicine and I have nothing but praise for his acumen as a talented Author. He has written what I would call a Bible of the cell's history. He includes up to date data regarding medical research as recent as 2021, and also mentions treatments that are experimental at this time. My favorite chapters and there are many, but one that is close to my heart is the chapter about Type I Diabetes and the cell systems that make up the pancreas. The knowledge that I gained from that chapter was cutting edge advancements researchers are in the process of developing using specialized cell systems in the pancreas. These specialized cells in the pancreas are called Islet cells. The name of the chapter about Type I Diabetes is called The Orchestrating Cell which has a subtitle stating homeostasis, Fixity, and balance. The reason why this section is so important to me is because, my twenty-four year old son was diagnosed with Type I Diabetes when he was six years old and since he wasn't born with this immunological disease it was a terrible blow to not only my son; (who never once complained), it was awful for myself as his mother.

In the section of the Orchestrating cell, Siddhartha Mukherjee, starts the section by stating so far most of the cells we have encountered thus far talk to each other locally. Aside from the immune system, where a signal from one cell can summon distant cells to the site of an infection or inflammation, we haven't heard much about the cellular chatter that can reach across the vast expanses of an organisms body. The messages between organs must be orchestrated going back to the thinking of the body as a cellular citizenship. Some signal or impulse, must move between cells, informing them of the global "state" that the body is inhabiting. The signals move from one organ to the next, carried by blood. There must be a means for one part of the body to "meet" a distant part of the body. We call these signals "hormones," from the Greek hormon--to impel, or to set some action into motion. In a sense they impel the body to act as a whole.

In Aristotle's writing he mentions the shape of the pancreas and where it's located, but he makes no mention of its function. It was simply labeled "pan" (all) and "kreas" (flesh).--an organ of all flesh. The juices that are released from the pancreas enables digestion. It breaks down complex food molecules into simple ones. The larger acinar cells that make digestive enzymes surround "islands" of islet cells (smaller cells) that secrete insulin. My son's pancreas stopped working suddenly and he has to inject himself with insulin to cover any carbohydrate that he eats. The medical research sounds promising that is discussed.

I also liked the section about cancer. My one quibble is the Author left out early detection and prevention, because he said that he wrote about it in 2016, in his first book "The Emperor of all Maladies". Since 2016, when he wrote that book he mentioned updating it, leaving me to infer that a lot has changed in treating cancer.

I loved this whole book because it is so interesting and is easily accessible to understand. Considering he is a doctor his methods of writing gave examples of patients that suffered from one condition or another including what methods were used to treat certain ailments having to do with the cell, system of cells in different organs of the body. Taking from the Title "The Song of the Cell," he speaks as if in a conversational tone. This makes it so much more enjoyable and a real page turner. I didn't want to put the book down. As I was mentioning the Title, he describes a young boy who goes into the Rain Forest with a Professor of Botany, where the Professor is impressed because the boy knows the name of every plant and bush. But, the boy doesn't feel he deserves the Professor's compliments since he doesn't understand how all of the plants interact with each other. He doesn't understand the "song" that they use to form a bigger system. The author includes many stories within his historical background of a cell's individual or systems of the different cells and how they communicate forming citizenship. I never felt like I was reading a textbook and this was never dry, ever! I loved the stem cell section, also. The historical landscape of their background and how in Japan a scientist won the Nobel Prize for creating a kind using four different genes.

Highly, Highly recommend this illuminating Non-Fiction book written in easy to understand prose that tells not only the beginning of History with the discovery of the cell. It also offers cutting edge treatments for every cellular system having to do with the entire human body and its organs. It is easily a favorite of this year!

Publication Date: October 25, 2022

A Huge Thank you to Net Galley, The Talented and Humble Siddhartha Mukherjee and Scribner for generously providing me with my ARC in exchange for a fair and honest review. All opinions are my own.

#TheSongoftheCell #SiddharthaMukherjee #Scribner #NetGalley

An intimate, brilliantly researched and marvelously accessible read from one of the finest science writers around. Siddhartha Mukherjee delivers another fascinating and provocative page-turner. Highly recommended.

Many thanks to Scribner and to Netgalley for the opportunity and pleasure of an early read.

Song of the Cell by Siddhartha Mukherjee is about new kinds of treatments for dreadful diseases that resist treatment by changing or enabling cells to "fix" things. Mukherjee starts by explaining how things work (or are supposed to work) with references to poetry, which may sound like two very different things that may not mix well. But, think of how different peanut butter and chocolate are, yet how good they are together, and you get a sense of how it works.

Mukherjee takes a topic that is hard to understand for people who are not involved in medicine, or science for that matter, and makes it accessible. Song of the cell describes a future where people with diabetes, cancer, sickle cell anemia, Parkinson's disease, and more, may be treated with their own rejuvenated blood cells so there is no rejection by the body. He describes it so well, you may be tempted to try it yourself, but don't try this at home, please!

Mukherjee discusses moral and ethical issues that surround using stem cells and changing the makeup of cells. He also discusses the differences between fetal blood cells to mature blood cells. He writes about some of the "stars" in the field, past and present, of which he may be one.

If you like science, but are not a scientist, this may be a good read for you. If you like science fiction, you may like to read this. But remember, it is science "fact".

Instructive, fascinating, and scrupulous without being overly pedantic, The Song of the Cell is Mukherjee at his best. In fact, it may be my new favorite work of his. I say that because of the way he manages to provide an intimate and detailed account of the cell as well as a wide-ranging emphasis on its evolving role in science and medicine. It truly is a remarkable lens of exploration and insight into what makes us human, into the emergent properties that are required to constitute life.

As the author himself relates, this book is a "sum of parts." Six in total. Beginning with single units and ending with the body's complex and interactive cellular ecosystem, Mukjherjee takes readers on a progressive journey. He tells the story of the cell, highlighting its complex music, if you will. He not only touches upon the physiology and pathology of the cell, but upon his general and personal history with it where he relates stories of patients whose lives have been touched by it in sickness - some of whom have been cured, others whom cannot be - as well as the medical quest that has been underway for the last century to use cells to help rebuild and repair humans.

I admit, I was worried about the lack of chronological structure early on. I feared I wouldn't be able to follow or that I'd get lost in the medical density of it all. That said, I'm pleased to say it worked better without it. Ended up being a stronger read because of it. I actually preferred the structure that was chosen because it allowed me to focus on the cell as a unit as well as extrapolate on it as a system of parts that work in tandem.

In this text, the author arranged things so as to help readers hear and understand how separate cellular components function while also showing how they build off each other to interact in comprehensive ways or systems (in our blood, in our organs, in our medical treatments, in our environment) to play one fluid song: initiating, cooperating, or malfunctioning in its bodily response. For the first time, I was able to see cells not only as the unit of life and physiology but also as the locus of disease.

There's so much to learn in these pages, so much still left for science to discover.

A remarkable and illuminating read. Just brilliant.

Special thanks to NetGalley and Scribner for the ARC in exchange for my review.