![]() ![]() I already knew Richtel could pass for a physician in conversation. I’m pleased to report that he nearly passes in writing, too. In the concluding section, we arrive at a path forward, and a potential cure for the millions who suffer from diseases of the immune system. He wants to push us, and be warned: You will be pushed.īy the final page, however, you will possess a deeper understanding of immunology and an appreciation of the ferocious battles that patients and doctors are fighting. There are some curious analogies here: xenophobia, racism, nationalism and Nazism are all compared to autoimmune disorders (I'm not sure I followed the reference to “Hitler’s autoimmune machine.”) Yet it’s this outside-of-the-box thinking that makes Richtel’s book so rich and engaging. An Elegant Defense effortlessly guides readers on a scientific detective tale winding from the Black Plague to twentieth-century breakthroughs in vaccination and antibiotics, to today's laboratories that are revolutionizing immunologyperhaps the most extraordinary and consequential medical story of our time. ![]() (The discovery of penicillin is covered in just a few hundred words.) But this is not a history book it’s a story about cutting-edge science, humanely told, by a journalist engaging with an outrageously difficult subject. ![]() Richtel is a gifted storyteller – he can make even dry subjects like protein signaling come alive – but this section is diffuse and a tad superficial. We’re also given a quick tour through the history of the immunology, highlighting the discovery of antibodies, interleukins, immunotherapy and a phenomenon called phagocytosis. ![]()
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