Customer Reviews

One Renegade Cell: The Quest For The Origins Of Cancer (Science Masters Series)

5 star:		(16)
4 star:		(1)
3 star:		(0)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

No prior knowledge of cell biology or genetics is required. I have gained an appreciation for the complexity of cancer research thanks to the book. I highly recommend it. You also learn a fair amount of the history of the development of cancer research. And don't think you need to read through hundreds of introductory pages to accomplish this. The book is under 200 pages.

Once again: What I found great about the book is it explains very clearly the current thories on how cancer starts and spreads without requiring any prior knowledge in the field.

For the scientifically oriented who are interested in the details, it has a big reference and endnote section. 5 stars for sure.

As a scientist, I am familiar with most of the discoveries in cancer research discussed in the book. Weinberg nicely ties them together and explains how one exciting discovery in cancer research led to another. This is an excellent overview of what has been discovered about cancer and what is not known. Weinberg points out that many of the discoveries were from areas of research not directly related to cancer. This book should help the nonscientist understand the complexities of research and why so much time and resources have been required to uncover the mechanisms of cancer. I also highly recommend this book to students at all levels that are interested in any type of research.

There are very few books out that give the reader an overview modern cancer biology. This short book gives a clear picture of a complex and current subject. It uses historical perspective on scientific discovery to enliven the reading. It's well organized and readable without background in biology, but with enough depth to interest biologists in other fields. I also reccomend Robert Weinberg's "Genes and the Biology of Cancer", written with Harold Varmus, which covers the same material in a little more depth.

When my mother was diagnosed with cancer a few months ago, I frantically read everything I could lay my hands on to try to understand what was happening to her. As a former English major and flunker-of-high-school science classes, educating myself about the disease was a daunting task. "One Renegade Cell" explains in intelligent but clear language the theories that currently best explain how the disease begins and spreads.

In my search for knowledge, I have found many books that explain cancer as though to the Village Idiot. And I have found others that explain it as though to a PhD in Biology. I am truly thankful that Weinberg wrote this rare book that can be enjoyed and understood by the rest of us.

A book I'd recommend to everyone. Robert Weinberg is obviously on the shortlist for a medicine Nobel, and with the acknowledged help of his US editor has produced a wonderfully lucid, exciting book about how science discovered what cancer is and how it works. The link to evolution and Darwinism (at the gene level) is perhaps surprising. but utterly crucial.

This is a *fabulous* time to be alive, if you're intelligent and enthralled by knowledge!

A close relative of mine is a cancer survivor, and the shadow of this horrific disease has become a new member in our family. Weinberg's book is a quick and very well written primer for the layman on cancer and the history of oncological research. Not only does it contain up to date information about the latest genetic discoveries in the field, but it also presents them in a didatic and lighthearted style only an insider could offer. Reading this book, I felt like having a glimpse of the kind of books that will be written abou cancer in (hopefully) 20 years: books in which all the mechanisms leading to tumor formation will be laid bare for the student, and effective therapies will be available for all kinds of cancer, with minor burden of side effects. Books in which all the suffering caused by cancer nowadays will be as part of medical history as polio is. I felt enpowered by this book and actually enjoyed reading it (the account of how a virus can cause cancer by stealing proto oncogenes from normal cells is fascinating). The only reason I have not given 5 stars is some difficulty in the last chapters due to the complicated naming conventions of genes, but I guess this is a fault of the unfinished status of genetic oncology and my ignorance. If cancer or the history of medical research in general interests you, I strongly recommend this book.

What we know about cancer has increased dramatically in the past 20 years, and the author has played a part in many of the major discoveries that have occurred. Weinberg goes through the path of discovery in a largely chronological order, showing the initial theories on the workings of cancer, and then bringing in the revisions to these theories, revealing aspects of cell biology at the appropriate times, so that the reader does not become overwhelmed by excess information at the start of the book, a fault that seems to be common in many popular science books.

Overall, I feel that this is one of the best books in the Science Masters series, and a must read for anyone interested in cancer. I feel that it would also make valuable reading for anyone whose work relates to the health sciences in any way, since after reading this book, you have a rather thorough understanding of cancer in a general sense, without all of the technical details which would only be of interest to a researcher or doctor specialising in cancer. There is also the possibility that this book would be of value to a cancer sufferer, since understanding an illness can often help a person to better cope with it, and this book would really let the patient understand what was happening in their body, and why, and understand why various treatments work for some types of cancer, but not others.

This a wonderful introduction to how cancer begins. It presents a fascinating history of the research involved in uncovering the underlying causes of cancer as well as acquainting the reader with the genetic underpinnings. Weinberg assumes no prior knowledge of cell biology or genetics and proceeds to skillfully lead the reader into some rather deep waters. By the end of the book the reader will have a very good grasp of what cancer is all about and will have gained an appreciation for the wonderous complexity of the cell's inner workings. I highly recommend this book to anyone blessed with a sense of curiosity. You won't be disappointed.

It is amazing to find out that we know so much about how cell biology and cancer works. I would have thought that these details would be all that is needed to find a cure for cancer. The book reveals these secrets in an understandable way and makes you feel we are on the edge of bringing this knowkedge out of research and to patients. It has been said that knowledge is power. In the case of cancer it is also hope.

Here's a book that I would recommend to those people interested in learning a bit about the beginnings of cancer. In One Renegade Cell, Robert Weinberg has written an informative narrative on the history of cancer and molecular biology research, focusing on the theories and evidence behind the early days of this field: the 1970's and 80's.

Weinberg's focus is on what he knows best: the mechanisms that promote and regulate the proliferation of normal and malignant cells. And for that, his explanations are the best out there. These explanations take up the first half of the book, corresponds to the early events in the development of a tumor, and makes up a coherent story. For example, he covers oncogenes, tumor suppressors, apoptosis, and to a lesser extent DNA repair, in relatively easy-to-follow language.

In the second half of the book, Weinberg refers to other aspects of cancer progression, more reflective of the later stages of cancer - angiogenesis, immune evasion and metastasis. He essentially provides the highlight reel for these aspects of cancer, and I felt that the transitions to such topics could have used some work. But that's okay in my opinion, because Weinberg comes right out and says it on the cover - this book is specifically about *the beginning* of cancer, first and foremost.

Weinberg also avoids using overwhelmingly long lists of references that are typical of more scientific writing, as well as skipping over the many highly-technical details that are involved in actually conducting such research, making it more accessible to non-experts. Indeed, he defines every term in a way that probably only requires a minimal background in biology to understand.