Starred Review. Mukherjee's debut book is a sweeping epic of obsession, brilliant researchers, dramatic new treatments, euphoric success and tragic failure, and the relentless battle by scientists and patients alike against an equally relentless, wily, and elusive enemy. From the first chemotherapy developed from textile dyes to the possibilities emerging from our understanding of cancer cells, Mukherjee shapes a massive amount of history into a coherent story with a roller-coaster trajectory: the discovery of a new treatment--surgery, radiation, chemotherapy--followed by the notion that if a little is good, more must be better, ending in disfiguring radical mastectomy and multidrug chemo so toxic the treatment ended up being almost worse than the disease. The first part of the book is driven by the obsession of Sidney Farber and philanthropist Mary Lasker to find a unitary cure for all cancers. (Farber developed the first successful chemotherapy for childhood leukemia.) The last and most exciting part is driven by the race of brilliant, maverick scientists to understand how cells become cancerous. Each new discovery was small, but as Mukherjee, a Columbia professor of medicine, writes, "Incremental advances can add up to transformative changes." Mukherjee's formidable intelligence and compassion produce a stunning account of the effort to disrobe the "emperor of maladies." (Nov.) (c) Copyright © Reed Business Information, a division of Reed Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.
美国，第二次世界大战前后10年，这是一个不同寻常的时代。在这部普利策奖获奖作品中，多莉丝•基恩斯•古德温以“编年体”的形式讲述了美国及其第一家庭齐心协力、历经磨难最终取得的辉煌成就。富兰克林•罗斯福和他的国家：在最空前的经济大萧条中，他坐着轮椅走进白宫，从此开始了空前绝后的四个任期。从著名的罗斯福新政，到珍珠港事件，从大西洋宪章，到雅尔塔会议，他带领美国，最终赢得反法西斯战争的胜利。贯穿其中的是：他的坚强、勇敢、力量、信念、承诺、远见，他极度的自信，他的感染力，他的时机感、政治技巧和献身精神，他的理想主义和现实态度；他的孤独，他的软弱，他的无助……富兰克林?罗斯福和英国首相丘吉尔的政治友谊：他们的友谊只用一句话就可以概括——“大不列颠首相对美利坚合众国总统没什么好遮遮掩掩的”。富兰克林•罗斯福和埃莉诺•罗斯福的婚姻和情感：他们的肉体永远分离，但他们的精神息息相关。她用她的“特权”推进国民的福祉和社会正义，她在世界历史上开创了“第一夫人政治”，被称为“世界上最伟大的女性”。富兰克林•罗斯福和他的情人及朋友们：这是一种特别的生活方式，由此，他克服了肢体瘫痪带来的局限，也填补了不美满的婚姻带来的情感需求。从罗斯福夫妇的人生故事中，我们可以看到生命与死亡、爱情与友情、罪恶与良知、信仰与理性等生命主题。罗斯福总统及夫人埃莉诺•罗斯福正是那个时代美国精神最杰出代表。
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Starred Review. Mukherjee's debut book is a sweeping epic of obsession, brilliant researchers, dramatic new treatments, euphoric success and tragic failure, and the relentless battle by scientists and patients alike against an equally relentless, wily, and elusive enemy. From the first chemotherapy developed from textile dyes to the possibilities emerging from our understanding of cancer cells, Mukherjee shapes a massive amount of history into a coherent story with a roller-coaster trajectory: the discovery of a new treatment--surgery, radiation, chemotherapy--followed by the notion that if a little is good, more must be better, ending in disfiguring radical mastectomy and multidrug chemo so toxic the treatment ended up being almost worse than the disease. The first part of the book is driven by the obsession of Sidney Farber and philanthropist Mary Lasker to find a unitary cure for all cancers. (Farber developed the first successful chemotherapy for childhood leukemia.) The last and most exciting part is driven by the race of brilliant, maverick scientists to understand how cells become cancerous. Each new discovery was small, but as Mukherjee, a Columbia professor of medicine, writes, "Incremental advances can add up to transformative changes." Mukherjee's formidable intelligence and compassion produce a stunning account of the effort to disrobe the "emperor of maladies." (Nov.) (c) Copyright © Reed Business Information, a division of Reed Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.