A thrilling synopsis of the current condition of the fight against cancer.
A thorough summary of the ways in which scientific breakthroughs are revolutionizing the treatment of cancer.
For a long time, the author notes, the conventional approach to treating cancer relied upon surgery, radiation, and chemotherapy: the “cut, burn, and poison” trinity. But while these toxic therapies can be very effective in reducing the size of the tumor, they can also catalyze the genetic instability that spreads cancer. Decades of new research in cancer biology, immunology, biochemistry, molecular biology, and cellular engineering now promise new strategies that could reduce cancer to a manageable condition like diabetes. “While this malicious malady inherent to our biology cannot be eradicated, perhaps, at last, it can be tamed.” The author furnishes a concise but comprehensive history of the research related to cancer and the evolving scientific consensus, as well as a remarkably lucid discussion of the “startling advancements in cancer therapy” like precision oncology that can “characterize in exquisite detail the molecular characteristics of each patient’s cancer.” The great challenge of fighting cancer has always been its “astounding biological complexity,” but new knowledge, including the sequencing of the human genome, has revealed much about the “biochemical basis of life.” Kelner’s presentation has no shortage of scientific technicality; he writes with admirable clarity, although the complex nature of the subject only permits so much accessibility to a lay audience. Nevertheless, he achieves his goal not only to provide a rigorous synopsis of the most recent research, but also to convey his “enthusiasm and wonder” for biology and medicine. Cancer is a “dreadful human affliction,” but there’s something not only intellectually fascinating but also morally noble about the collective scientific effort to counter it. For those interested in the subject, and armed with patience for some dense reading, this is a marvelous book that’s packed with knowledge, insight, and hope.
A thrilling synopsis of the current condition of the fight against cancer.Pub Date: May 28, 2024
ISBN: 9798988608103
Page Count: 353
Publisher: N/A
Review Posted Online: Aug. 16, 2024
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Nov. 1, 2024
Review Program: Kirkus Indie
A football star’s bracing account of his battle for racial equality—and how powerful forces arrayed against him.
A principled athlete strives for social justice.
Kaepernick forthrightly details the activism that earned him global renown but cost him his NFL career. In 2016, the San Francisco 49ers quarterback “was filled with disgust” after police shootings of fellow Black men in several American cities. Before a preseason game, he made a spontaneous decision: “It hit me in that moment that I should find a seat” during the national anthem. He did the same at two more games before reporters noticed. Kaepernick will forever be associated with “taking a knee” during the anthem, but he credits Eric Reid—a teammate who agreed with Kaepernick’s message—for suggesting that they kneel together during subsequent anthems. The protest changed everything for Kaepernick. President Trump vilified him. Kaepernick and his wife received death threats. And though he’d taken the 49ers to a Super Bowl, no teams would sign him. He will likely make news for his take on Jay-Z, whose lucrative partnership with the NFL was criticized as an attempt to launder the league’s reputation. Visiting Africa, where Kaepernick learns about “African leaders who willingly sold their own people to the enslavers,” he “couldn’t help but to think about Jay-Z and the NFL.” In opening chapters, Kaepernick recalls suffering traumatic racial abuse as a child. Being in “white spaces”—he was adopted by white parents—placed him “under a microscope every minute of every day.” He isn’t always nuanced, depicting some people he disagrees with as cartoonishly clueless. But his writing about how college and pro teams “lied” to him about injuries underlines his “feeling of being a disposable commodity.” A decade has passed since Kaepernick played in the NFL, but he stays fit in case “a team needing a QB” calls.
A football star’s bracing account of his battle for racial equality—and how powerful forces arrayed against him.Pub Date: Sept. 15, 2026
ISBN: 9781538777879
Page Count: 288
Publisher: Legacy Lit/Hachette
Review Posted Online: June 15, 2026
Kirkus Reviews Issue: July 15, 2026
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
A virtuoso performance and an ode to an undervalued medium created by two talented artists.
The veteran actor, comedian, and banjo player teams up with the acclaimed illustrator to create a unique book of cartoons that communicates their personalities.
Martin, also a prolific author, has always been intrigued by the cartoons strewn throughout the pages of the New Yorker. So when he was presented with the opportunity to work with Bliss, who has been a staff cartoonist at the magazine since 1997, he seized the moment. “The idea of a one-panel image with or without a caption mystified me,” he writes. “I felt like, yeah, sometimes I’m funny, but there are these other weird freaks who are actually funny.” Once the duo agreed to work together, they established their creative process, which consisted of working forward and backward: “Forwards was me conceiving of several cartoon images and captions, and Harry would select his favorites; backwards was Harry sending me sketched or fully drawn cartoons for dialogue or banners.” Sometimes, he writes, “the perfect joke occurs two seconds before deadline.” There are several cartoons depicting this method, including a humorous multipanel piece highlighting their first meeting called “They Meet,” in which Martin thinks to himself, “He’ll never be able to translate my delicate and finely honed droll notions.” In the next panel, Bliss thinks, “I’m sure he won’t understand that the comic art form is way more subtle than his blunt-force humor.” The team collaborated for a year and created 150 cartoons featuring an array of topics, “from dogs and cats to outer space and art museums.” A witty creation of a bovine family sitting down to a gourmet meal and one of Dumbo getting his comeuppance highlight the duo’s comedic talent. What also makes this project successful is the team’s keen understanding of human behavior as viewed through their unconventional comedic minds.
A virtuoso performance and an ode to an undervalued medium created by two talented artists.Pub Date: Nov. 17, 2020
ISBN: 978-1-250-26289-9
Page Count: 272
Publisher: Celadon Books
Review Posted Online: Aug. 30, 2020
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Sept. 15, 2020
PERSPECTIVES
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