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A COMMOTION IN THE BLOOD

Name: A COMMOTION IN THE BLOOD
Author: Stephen S. Hall
ISBN: 0-8050-3796-9

LIFE, DEATH, AND THE IMMUNE SYSTEM

by Stephen S. Hall ‧ RELEASE DATE: June 1, 1997

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Immunotherapy seeks to get the immune system to stir up a molecular ``commotion in the blood'' to battle disease. This sweeping yet remarkably detailed report focuses on the efforts to use immunotherapy in the fight against cancer. Science journalist Hall (Mapping the Next Millennium, 1991, etc.) opens with an account of William Coley, a 19th-century American physician whose pioneering use of a crude cancer vaccine can now be seen as the beginning of cancer immunotherapy in this country. As Hall points out, neither Coley nor his critics had ``the foggiest notion of the cells, the molecules, and the order of interaction involved in the immune response,'' an ignorance that today is finally lifting. The scene next shifts to 1950s London and the discovery of the much-ballyhooed interferon, which in turn led to the discovery of a host of other factors involved in immunological responses. Among these are interleukin-2, discovered in 1976 in one of Robert Gallo's laboratories and made famous by Steven Rosenberg in his work at the National Cancer Institute, and interleukin-12, the current favorite. Along the way, Hall details the development of T-cell-specific antibodies, the tumor necrotizing factor, and monoclonal antibodies. He seems to have interviewed just about every major immunology researcher, and he makes vivid their political maneuverings in the race for scientific primacy. The journey of a new therapeutic tool from laboratory to clinic is a hazardous one, and Hall makes it both understandable and exciting. He also shows us the hype that surrrounds each new ``magic bullet'' and the inevitable letdown when each one fails to live up to its hype. In the end, Hall leaves the reader optimistic that the ``commotion in the blood'' is not random noise but a ``beautifully scored piece of music'' that future researchers will be able to read. As gripping as a spy thriller. (8 pages b&w photos, not seen)

Pub Date: June 1, 1997

ISBN: 0-8050-3796-9

Page Count: 448

Publisher: Henry Holt

Review Posted Online: May 19, 2010

Kirkus Reviews Issue: April 15, 1997

Categories:

GENERAL NONFICTION

- BOOK REVIEW
WISDOM
by Stephen S. Hall

- BOOK REVIEW
SIZE MATTERS
by Stephen S. Hall

- BOOK REVIEW
MERCHANTS OF MORTALITY
by Stephen S. Hall

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NUTCRACKER

by E.T.A. Hoffmann ‧ RELEASE DATE: Oct. 28, 1996

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This is not the Nutcracker sweet, as passed on by Tchaikovsky and Marius Petipa. No, this is the original Hoffmann tale of 1816, in which the froth of Christmas revelry occasionally parts to let the dark underside of childhood fantasies and fears peek through. The boundaries between dream and reality fade, just as Godfather Drosselmeier, the Nutcracker's creator, is seen as alternately sinister and jolly. And Italian artist Roberto Innocenti gives an errily realistic air to Marie's dreams, in richly detailed illustrations touched by a mysterious light. A beautiful version of this classic tale, which will captivate adults and children alike. (Nutcracker; $35.00; Oct. 28, 1996; 136 pp.; 0-15-100227-4)

Pub Date: Oct. 28, 1996

ISBN: 0-15-100227-4

Page Count: 136

Publisher: Harcourt

Review Posted Online: May 19, 2010

Kirkus Reviews Issue: Aug. 15, 1996

Categories:

GENERAL NONFICTION

- BOOK REVIEW
THE NUTCRACKER AND THE MOUSE KING
by E.T.A. Hoffmann ; adapted by Natalie Andrewson ; illustrated by Natalie Andrewson

- BOOK REVIEW
THE NUTCRACKER
by E.T.A. Hoffmann & illustrated by Julie Paschkis

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TO THE ONE I LOVE THE BEST

EPISODES FROM THE LIFE OF LADY MENDL (ELSIE DE WOLFE)

by Ludwig Bemelmans ‧ RELEASE DATE: Feb. 23, 1955

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An extravaganza in Bemelmans' inimitable vein, but written almost dead pan, with sly, amusing, sometimes biting undertones, breaking through. For Bemelmans was "the man who came to cocktails". And his hostess was Lady Mendl (Elsie de Wolfe), arbiter of American decorating taste over a generation. Lady Mendl was an incredible person,- self-made in proper American tradition on the one hand, for she had been haunted by the poverty of her childhood, and the years of struggle up from its ugliness,- until she became synonymous with the exotic, exquisite, worshipper at beauty's whrine. Bemelmans draws a portrait in extremes, through apt descriptions, through hilarious anecdote, through surprisingly sympathetic and understanding bits of appreciation. The scene shifts from Hollywood to the home she loved the best in Versailles. One meets in passing a vast roster of famous figures of the international and artistic set. And always one feels Bemelmans, slightly offstage, observing, recording, commenting, illustrated.