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Ravenous: Otto Warburg, the Nazis, and the Search for the Cancer-Diet Connection by [Sam Apple]

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Ravenous: Otto Warburg, the Nazis, and the Search for the Cancer-Diet Connection Kindle Edition

4.6 out of 5 stars 295 ratings

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From the Publisher

Editorial Reviews

From the Back Cover

“A fascinating account of an impossibly arrogant scientific genius, his collision with the monster Adolph Hitler, and the revolutions in cancer research. Sam Apple, a lively stylist, handles these complex, braided narrative threads with clarity, insight, and a nose for the paradoxical and absurd. The result is a genuine contribution to science writing and a model for how to do contemporary nonfiction.”
― Phillip Lopate, Professor of Writing, Columbia University, editor of The Glorious American Essay

“Sam Apple is a spellbinding storyteller and explainer of science. Ravenous will change the way you think about cancer and how to prevent it.”
― Jason Fung, MD, author of The Cancer Code

“Otto Warburg’s decades-old science is central to a revolution in thinking about cancer as a metabolic disease. Sam Apple’s riveting book, Ravenous, reveals Warburg in all his brilliant, bizarre complexity and is a must-read for anyone interested in the science behind low-carbohydrate/high-fat and ketogenic eating.”
― Gary Taubes, science journalist, author of The Case Against Sugar

“Sam Apple’s Ravenous is biography at its best. Otto Warburg is an uncommonly good subject―a cell biologist who could not stand his fellow humans but devoted himself to saving them from the scourge of cancer. The author’s understanding of Warburg’s life and scientific legacy is perceptive and subtle, his biology lessons are a joy to read, and his history of the connections between Hitler and Germany’s early cancer research is a small masterpiece.”
― Patricia O’Toole, author of The Five of Hearts, When Trumpets Call, and The Moralist

“A remarkable book that just might make you rethink your diet. It’s well known―or should be―that poor nutrition can disrupt metabolism and lead to obesity, diabetes, and heart disease. In Ravenous, Sam Apple reveals that many of the most deadly cancers are connected to this very same diet-driven disease process.”
― Mark Hyman, MD, author of The Pegan Diet and Head of Strategy and Innovation at the Cleveland Clinic Center for Functional Medicine

"A brilliant weave of history and science, Ravenous tells the riveting story of how Otto Warburg, a Nobel Prize–winning biochemist and a gay man of Jewish descent, survived the Third Reich in a posh Berlin suburb, and how his theories of metabolic cancer cells may yet hold the key to finding a cure for the defining disease of our time.”
― Helmut Walser Smith, professor of German studies at Vanderbilt University and author of The Butcher’s Tale and Germany: A Nation in Its Time

Ravenous reads like a cancer mystery with the larger-than-life Warburg in the role of the determined detective. By learning of the scientific struggles of the past, you'll gain a new appreciation for the modern focus on hormones, such as insulin, in the development of cancer.”
― Benjamin Bikman, Associate Professor, Brigham Young University, author of Why We Get Sick

“A fantastic read. If you’re interested in history or science― or just need inspiration to eat less sugar―this is the book for you.”
― Nina Teicholz, science journalist and best-selling author of The Big Fat Surprise

“While tobacco-induced cancer deaths continue to decline, the second major cause of cancer―obesity―moves to center stage. Few realize its profound importance in causing cancer. Sam Apple has written an endlessly interesting and carefully researched book.”
― Robert A. Weinberg, founding member of the Whitehead Institute and professor of biology at MIT

“A gripping and smart page-turner, Sam Apple’s Ravenous tells two fascinating interwoven stories: that of the pioneer of cancer metabolism research Otto Warburg, who in the twenty-first century finally has been proven right, and that of Hitler’s fear of cancer, both as the disease that had killed his mother and as a political metaphor.”
― Thomas Weber, professor of history and international affairs at the University of Aberdeen and author of Becoming Hitler

--This text refers to the hardcover edition.

Review

"Eye-opening... filled with... outrageous and entertaining stories... I walked away from Ravenous thinking of Otto Warburg as a sort of Sigmund Freud of cancer research."
Sam Kean, Wall Street Journal

"Ravenous tells the story of an extraordinary life, and of the visionary work that sustained it.... [An] exceptionally interesting and well-written book."
Thomas Morris, Times Literary Supplement

"The research that Warburg is best known for today, and the work that forms the backbone of
Ravenous, is his discovery that cancer cells behave differently from healthy cells in two very specific ways: They consume massive amounts of glucose ― Apple compares them to ravenous shipwrecked sailors ― and they eschew aerobic respiration in favor of fermentation. . . Apple covers everything from Hitler’s obsessive preoccupation with cancer to how the German Empire’s transformation into an industrial powerhouse led to a Romanticism-fueled movement that emphasized both environmental and racial purity. The fact that Apple can make these stories . . . feel so immediate is a testament to his canny knack for choosing apposite details."
New York Times Book Review

"[Apple] weaves together this complex narrative in a way that makes arcane science accessible and fascinating. The book is also thought-provoking for anyone interested in avoiding cancer ― and who isn’t?"
Marie McCullough, Philadelphia Inquirer

"[A] fascinating new book about the link between diet and cancer... [
Ravenous] has received positive reviews from both cancer researchers and general readers interested in how the way we eat in Western societies (specifically the inordinate amounts of sugar we consume) makes us vulnerable to cancer."
Renee Ghert-Zand, The Times of Israel

"
Rav­en­ous is a page-turn­er, and much of its suc­cess is due to Apple’s flu­id, approach­able writ­ing.... A joy to read and an utter­ly fas­ci­nat­ing tale."
Juli Berwald, Jewish Book Council

"A fascinating account of Warburg."
Sylvia R. Karasu M.D., Psychology Today

"[A] spellbinding new work of reporting by science journalist Sam Apple. Rarely has such an array of medical troubles, historical events, bench science and political intrigue come together as they do in
Ravenous."
Paul John Scott, Post Bulletin

"Apple . . . delivers a gripping account of biochemist Otto Warburg (1883–1970) and the origins of modern cancer science in his excellent latest. . . As he draws fascinating insights from the interplay between science and ideology. . . Apple keeps the scientific explanations easy to understand, while interviews with a slew of characters add color. This is a bona fide page-turner."
Publishers Weekly, starred review

"[Apple] skillfully blends science writing with biography to present the story of this quirky, arrogant, and brilliant scientist, who revolutionized research on cancer and photosynthesis (how organisms use energy to make glucose).... An illuminating account that makes Warburg (the man and the scientist) accessible to general readers."
Karl Helicher, Library Journal

"A long-overdue biography of German biologist Otto Warburg (1883-1970), who won the Nobel Prize for his work on cell respiration and metabolism, especially as related to cancer.... A welcome addition to the library on the disease and one of its most successful enemies."
Kirkus Reviews --This text refers to the paperback edition.

Product details

  • ASIN ‏ : ‎ B08L6Y3W2B
  • Publisher ‏ : ‎ Liveright (May 25, 2021)
  • Publication date ‏ : ‎ May 25, 2021
  • Language ‏ : ‎ English
  • File size ‏ : ‎ 16990 KB
  • Text-to-Speech ‏ : ‎ Enabled
  • Screen Reader ‏ : ‎ Supported
  • Enhanced typesetting ‏ : ‎ Enabled
  • X-Ray ‏ : ‎ Enabled
  • Word Wise ‏ : ‎ Enabled
  • Sticky notes ‏ : ‎ On Kindle Scribe
  • Print length ‏ : ‎ 422 pages
  • Customer Reviews:
    4.6 out of 5 stars 295 ratings

About the author

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Sam Apple is on the faculty of the MA in Science Writing and MA in Writing programs at Johns Hopkins. Prior to his arrival at Johns Hopkins, Apple taught creative writing and journalism at the University of Pennsylvania for ten years. He holds a BA in English and Creative Writing from the University of Michigan and an MFA in Creative Nonfiction from Columbia University.

Apple is the author of Ravenous American Parent, and Schlepping Through the Alps. He has published short stories, personal essays, satires, and journalistic features on a wide range of topics. In recent years, he has primarily written about science and health. His work has appeared in The New York Times Magazine, The New Yorker, The Atlantic, Wired, The Los Angeles Times, The Financial Times Magazine, ESPN The Magazine, The MIT Technology Review, and McSweeney’s, among many other publications. Schlepping Through the Alps was a finalist for the PEN America Award for a first work of nonfiction.

Customer reviews

4.6 out of 5 stars
4.6 out of 5
295 global ratings

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Top reviews from other countries

M M
5.0 out of 5 stars Before Keto, Atkins, South Beach there was the science of Otto Warburg.
Reviewed in the United Kingdom 🇬🇧 on July 16, 2021
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Ann S
5.0 out of 5 stars One of the best popular science books I’ve read
Reviewed in the United Kingdom 🇬🇧 on August 12, 2021
Mustapha Ozturk
5.0 out of 5 stars Fantastic read
Reviewed in the United Kingdom 🇬🇧 on September 9, 2021
East Texas Red
5.0 out of 5 stars Buen historia
Reviewed in Spain 🇪🇸 on July 23, 2022
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