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147 reviews for:
Survival of the Sickest: A Medical Maverick Discovers Why We Need Disease
Sharon Moalem
3.98 AVERAGE
147 reviews for:
Survival of the Sickest: A Medical Maverick Discovers Why We Need Disease
Sharon Moalem
3.98 AVERAGE
informative
challenging
informative
reflective
slow-paced
I'm sure this was/is a great book, but I only understood about 45% of it. Just beyond my ability to really follow well.
Another landmark in my attempt to read all the books I optimistically bought during high school then stuck on my shelf to collect dust for years. Survival of the Sickest was a fun, quick read, and I can see why my high schools assigned it to give students a greater appreciation of biology. Moalem's prose was very approachable and competent, pretty standard fare for science books aimed at a non-scientist audience. At times, I found the copious metaphors he used to elucidate biological processes tedious and the writing style a bit too, um, tryhard; although, that might just be my pretentious asshole complex rearing its head. Also, although the notes section is extensive there are points where personal speculation and researched/peer-reviewed results aren't clearly differentiated. Dangerous, to say the least.
All that aside, this is a fantastic introduction to evolutionary biology as a framework, and the amazing insights about our history as a species that can be gleaned from re-examining our medical preconceptions in a new light. Granted, it's not exactly a rigorous survey of the field, but it's not trying to be. I think the case study chapters for a particular genetic condition or disease were the strongest, but my favorite by far was the chapter on jumping genes. What a pleasure it is to fill in the gaps of a dim memory of DNA transpositions in high school. Despite some flaws, a lovely primer on some balls-to-the-wall insane findings I (mostly) didn't learn in AP Bio.
Verdict: 3.5/5. Freakonomics but make it medicine; read if that description appeals to you.
All that aside, this is a fantastic introduction to evolutionary biology as a framework, and the amazing insights about our history as a species that can be gleaned from re-examining our medical preconceptions in a new light. Granted, it's not exactly a rigorous survey of the field, but it's not trying to be. I think the case study chapters for a particular genetic condition or disease were the strongest, but my favorite by far was the chapter on jumping genes. What a pleasure it is to fill in the gaps of a dim memory of DNA transpositions in high school. Despite some flaws, a lovely primer on some balls-to-the-wall insane findings I (mostly) didn't learn in AP Bio.
Verdict: 3.5/5. Freakonomics but make it medicine; read if that description appeals to you.
This was a fantastic look into the evolution of humans in response to our environment. The writing was witty and informative, and not too full of scientific jargon, which made it fun and easy to read.
informative
reflective
slow-paced
informative
medium-paced
I kind of felt like I was reading a text book, but at the same time I didn't because science text books are terribly boring and this wasn't. I feel like I would have actually really enjoyed it if I hadn't been forced into doing reading assignments as I read and I really liked that every once and a while they talked about Jews. That's pretty cool.
challenging
informative
fast-paced
