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 a 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.

[Thank you to NetGalley and the author for the advanced ebook copy in exchange for my honest and objective opinion which I have given here.]