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The Family That Couldn't Sleep: A Medical Mystery, by D. T. Max
Get Free Ebook The Family That Couldn't Sleep: A Medical Mystery, by D. T. Max
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Review
Advance praise“The Family that Couldn’t Sleep is a riveting detective story that plumbs one of the deepest mysteries of biology. The story takes the reader from the torments of an Italian family cursed with sleeplessness to the mad cows of England (and, now, America), following an unlikely trail of misfolded proteins. D. T. Max unfolds his absorbing narrative with rare grace and makes the science sing.” –Michael Pollan, author of The Omnivore’s Dilemma and The Botany of Desire“Much has been written about prions and Mad Cow Disease–nearly all of it is worthless. Thankfully, from the world of journalism comes D.T. Max to set things right. Throw all those other “Mad Cow” books in the trash: This is the book to read about prions–or whatever you want to call them. It’s a riveting tale, told by someone with a very special understanding, derived in part from his own strange ailment. Find a cozy spot, clear your schedule and dive in.”– Laurie Garrett, author of Betrayal of Trust and The Coming Plague“D. T. Max deftly unfolds the mysterious prion in all its villainous guises. Although scientists do not fully understand these proteins–how they replicate and wreak such havoc in their victims’ brains–The Family That Couldn’t Sleep reveals their historical, cultural, and scientific place in our world. Prepare to be enlightened, entertained, and frightened.”–Katrina Firlik, MD, author of Another Day in the Frontal Lobe“A great book. D.T. Max has drawn the curtain on a cabinet of folly and malady that will stagger your imagination.”– Philip Weiss, author of American Taboo“D.T. Max has combined the enthralling medical anthropology of Oliver Sacks with the gothic horror of Stephen King to produce a medical detective story that is as intelligent as it is spooky. The villain of The Family That Couldn’t Sleep is the prion, a tiny little protein that causes some of the most terrifying, brain-mangling, creepy diseases known to man. Always fascinating–how could it not be, given that its characters include cannibals, mad cows, madder sheep, a Nobel prize-winning pedophile, and, most poignantly, an Italian family cursed by fatal insomnia?–Max’s book is also a gripping account of scientific discovery, and a heartfelt meditation on what it means to be cursed with an incurable, and brutal, illness.” – David Plotz, author of The Genius Factory
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About the Author
D. T. Max was born and raised in New York City and graduated from Harvard in 1984. He has been an editor at Washington Square Press, Houghton Mifflin, and The New York Observer. For the past eight years, he has reported mostly for The New York Times Magazine. His work has also appeared in the Los Angeles Times, The Wall Street Journal, San Francisco Chronicle, and Chicago Tribune. He lives outside Washington, D.C., with his wife, their two young children, and a rescued beagle named Max.
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Product details
Paperback: 336 pages
Publisher: Random House Trade Paperbacks; Reprint edition (September 11, 2007)
Language: English
ISBN-10: 081297252X
ISBN-13: 978-0812972528
Product Dimensions:
5.2 x 0.7 x 8 inches
Shipping Weight: 9.6 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
Average Customer Review:
4.6 out of 5 stars
87 customer reviews
Amazon Best Sellers Rank:
#160,113 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)
I found this book to be incredibly interesting. I teach biology and anatomy to nurses, and I've known about prion diseases for a long time. I had read before about the disease kuru in New Guinea, and about the Mad Cow outbreak in Great Britain. But reading about a family that has an inherited disease that involves prions really changes things a bit in this field. In medical school, we heard of a case where surgeons opened the skull of a patient, thinking he had Alzheimer's Dementia...only to find out the person had Crutzfeld-Jakob disease. The proper protections were not in place and other people got infected with it.Prion diseases are different, in that they are not caused by bacteria or viruses, which we have known about for over 100 years. Prions are pure protein, and we have them in our brains normally. But when diseased prions touch normal proteins, they cause the unfolding of those proteins. And this causes the misfunction of normal proteins.I feel for this family in Italy. Their condition, that plagues their family, curbs their lives. But doctors will find out a lot more about prions by observing this family. Their misfortune will add to the current medical knowledge of the world about prions.
The Family That Couldn't Sleep is a chilling documentary about prion diseases and their terrifying effects on the human brain. It's well written and researched, and the accounts are intriguing, if not rather scary. I learned quite a bit from reading it. Ironically, it also made me sleepy, so I always read it before bed....At times it's a bit didactic, but honestly it's more interesting than dry. It certainly reads better than a textbook. I recommend it to anyone with an interest in epidemiology, biology, and medical microbiology.
Through an engaging, coherent history of prions and their diseases, "The Family That Couldn't Sleep" creates an amazing informative book. Very often, it is easy to dissociate laboratories and the molecular research that is actively moving to the lives of individuals human beings. Max creates an amazing weaved book in which the cutting-edge research of the time is connected to the individual family narratives. Beyond that, we are also able to get a glimpse into the lives of brilliant researchers who were spearheading an unknown field - prion research and exploration.Like a voyage of infectious disease, prions are connected across the world - from Italy, England, Papua New Guinea to the United States. "The Family That Couldn't Sleep" provides a great introduction into the interesting history of an infectious agent. With pockets of drama in the prion research field to the personal lives of afflicted individuals to the policy movements and action that move the storyline, Max's compelling book will pique anyone's interest in infectious prions and their role across the world.
I heard about this disorder (Fatale Familia Insomnia - FFI) and had to learn more about it. Maybe macabre and grisly for some but fascinating just the same. I'm still reading it but have learned so much about medical practices as far back as the 1600's and how medical research has evolved over the centuries. And even though FFI is now exceedingly rare, there are other related diseases (ALS is one, I believe) that are called Prion diseases that have to do with defective proteins and are still somewhat of a mystery for medical research. The author has managed to write about this so the average person can understand the body's physiology and disease and make it extremely interesting. Great book for people interested in medical mysteries.
3.5 stars, really. I learned so much about prion diseases and their discovery that I went back to reread it and take notes. However, switching back and forth among storylines and diseases ended up making me a little confused, which is why I'm going back to consolidate what I learned. The subject is fascinating and valuable, and I'm glad I read this book, although it could have gone smoother. I'm convinced we need to fund more prion research.
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