The Emperor of All Maladies: A Biography of Cancer by Siddhartha Mukherjee, Medicine, 571 pages.
Mukherjee is a deft writer, and he gives us this huge, yet readable account of Cancer, presenting the evolution of our knowledge of the disease, and of its treatment, spanning(mostly) the last one-hundred years. We see the rise of the "Radical Surgery" school, and the carnage it caused, for its attendant lack of results. The "Laskerites" bring us the War on Cancer, sponsored by the Nixon administration and slow steps they made toward understanding the disease and the possibilities of meaningful treatment. Throughout the book, someone in the medical community is always sure that the cure for cancer is right around the corner, but it isn't until researchers begin to understand how cancer works inside the cell, that it is our own cells run amok, our own genes turned on or turned off that a true difference is made for the patients suffering from some cancers. An incredible book, packed full of information, yet accessible.
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