of all diseases.
A meticulous scientific explanation of cancer in all of its wretched manifestations, cast in the light of evolutionary biology.
Leukemia researcher Greaves (London Institute of Cancer Research) makes it clear that his first concern is relieving cancer’ s human toll: Prevention, earlier detection, and more bearable and efficacious treatments are the driving force behind his research. But his focus here is on explaining the intricate mechanisms of cellular biology and demonstrating which haphazard combination of events allows for "the territorial expansion of a mutant clone." Greaves argues that cancer is not a modern disease—rather, he cites records of occurrences worldwide and in ancient cultures to bolster his theory that it has always been with us. We learn, for instance, that a gene mutation present in a tumor found in the mummified body of Ferrante I of Aragon and Naples (d. 1494) exactly matches the mutation found in some present-day cancers: This was the same disease. His brief history also makes clear the cyclical nature of the debate on causation (are some personalties cancer-prone?). The bottom line? Cells are structured "to oscillate on the edge of chaos and the scales can be tipped the wrong way"—by exposure to stress, to a variety of DNA-damaging chemicals (many of which occur naturally), and by chance mutation. Greaves’s study is complex and dense, but readers who stick with it will have a solid understanding of one of the most feared
of all diseases.Pub Date: March 1, 2000
ISBN: 0-19-262835-6
Page Count: 240
Publisher: Oxford Univ.
Review Posted Online: May 19, 2010
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Feb. 15, 2000
Stricter than, say, Bergen Evans or W3 ("disinterested" means impartial — period), Strunk is in the last analysis...
Privately published by Strunk of Cornell in 1918 and revised by his student E. B. White in 1959, that "little book" is back again with more White updatings.
Stricter than, say, Bergen Evans or W3 ("disinterested" means impartial — period), Strunk is in the last analysis (whoops — "A bankrupt expression") a unique guide (which means "without like or equal").Pub Date: May 15, 1972
ISBN: 0205632645
Page Count: 105
Publisher: Macmillan
Review Posted Online: Oct. 28, 2011
Kirkus Reviews Issue: May 1, 1972
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
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