Reviews with content warning for Cancer - Immune: A Journey Into the Mysterious System That Keeps You Alive

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Immune: A Journey Into the Mysterious System That Keeps You Alive by Philipp Dettmer

9 reviews

bones_jackson's review

informative medium-paced

5.0

O jeito que ele explica as coisas conseguem ser engraçadas e muito fáceis de entender, e os desenhos também ajudam muito

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weareinheritors's review

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funny informative lighthearted medium-paced

4.5

I feel like I'm a college-educated immunologist ready to start diagnosing people right away (I'm joking). But Dettmer does an amazing job of simplifying incredibly complex biological processes—it's nonfiction but it reads as easily as any fiction book would.

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readerette's review

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funny informative inspiring medium-paced

4.0

This is a nice intro to the immune system, at least from this layperson's perspective. I skipped most of the pictures as I didn't find them helpful (just pretty), but they may work better for you.

I found the grammatical choices distracting at times. It read very conversationally, which was nice given the dense material, but there were plenty of sentences with atypical structures for written material. It felt more stream-of-consciousness to me, but I could have used a little more predictable structure so that the concepts could really be the focus rather than how the words were written.

I also question some of the guidance provided. For instance in the chapter about cancer,

it seems there is a case for staying positive because it reduces stress (which the author shares is good for the immune system) and increases quality of life, even if attitude doesn't affect your survival chances according to the data. It makes sense not to fake it, of course, but it also makes sense to find a way to stay positive given the stress and quality of life factors.

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your_true_shelf's review

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challenging informative lighthearted medium-paced

4.0

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cyan_ink's review against another edition

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informative medium-paced

4.0

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erica_palmisano's review against another edition

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adventurous challenging funny hopeful informative inspiring fast-paced

4.75

Who knew a layman's text on immunity could also be a romp? Super interesting, inventive in its allusions/metaphors/analogies, and super helpful! I can't wait to share it with others and keep its insights in mind. The one thing I wish the author had emphasized was the role of discrimination and environment in the rates of autoimmunity and cancer issues among women, nonbinary folks, and minorities. More research seems to show that such folks are systematically at risk (especially for autoimmune issues), and it seems like he should have included that in his writing. The rest, though: amazing!

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sarasreading's review

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challenging funny informative medium-paced

4.5

4.5 stars, and I might bump it up later. This book was eye opening and a must read imo if you have any kind of inflammatory or autoimmune disease, or just really want a cool science book that is full of easy to understand metaphors and illustrations.

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machen27's review

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adventurous emotional funny informative inspiring medium-paced

5.0

A comprehensive overview of the human immune system, with beautiful graphics that distills the essence of how our bodies work to keep us alive in a world full of hostile organisms, as well as the ways it can fail to do so. Dettmer favors telling a tractable story but is also very clear about when things are being simplified. I wholeheartedly recommend this book to everyone, though some of the language and imagery may not be appropriate for children younger than high school or so.

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skylarkindareads's review

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informative lighthearted medium-paced

5.0

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