Best Basic Medical Sciences
#1 NEW YORK TIMES BESTSELLER • PULITZER PRIZE FINALIST • This inspiring, exquisitely observed memoir finds hope and beauty in the face of insurmountable odds as an idealistic young neurosurgeon attempts to answer the question What makes a life worth living? At the age of thirty-six, on the verge of completing a decade’s worth of training as a neurosurgeon, Paul Kalanithi was diagnosed with stage IV lung cancer. When Breath Becomes Air chronicles Kalanithi’s transformation from a naïve medical student “possessed,” as he wrote, “by the question of what, given that all organisms die, makes a virtuous and meaningful life” into a neurosurgeon at Stanford working in the brain, the most critical place for human identity, and finally into a patient and new father confronting his own mortality. I’ll go on.’” When Breath Becomes Air is an unforgettable, life-affirming reflection on the challenge of facing death and on the relationship between doctor and patient, from a brilliant writer who became both. And part comes from the way he conveys what happened to him—passionately working and striving, deferring gratification, waiting to live, learning to die—so well.” —Janet Maslin, The New York Times. The book brims with insightful reflections on mortality that are especially poignant coming from a trained physician familiar with what lies ahead.” — The Boston Globe. As he wrote to a friend: ‘It’s just tragic enough and just imaginable enough.’ And just important enough to be unmissable.” —Janet Maslin, The New York Times “Paul Kalanithi’s memoir, When Breath Becomes Air, written as he faced a terminal cancer diagnosis, is inherently sad. It is, despite its grim undertone, accidentally inspiring.” — The Washington Post “Paul Kalanithi’s posthumous memoir, When Breath Becomes Air, possesses the gravity and wisdom of an ancient Greek tragedy. [Kalanithi] is so likeable, so relatable, and so humble, that you become immersed in his world and forget where it’s all heading.” — USA Today “It’s [Kalanithi’s] unsentimental approach that makes When Breath Becomes Air so original—and so devastating. “Rattling, heartbreaking, and ultimately beautiful, the too-young Dr. Kalanithi’s memoir is proof that the dying are the ones who have the most to teach us about life.” —Atul Gawande “Thanks to When Breath Becomes Air, those of us who never met Paul Kalanithi will both mourn his death and benefit from his life. Kalanithi strives to define his dual role as physician and patient, and he weighs in on such topics as what makes life meaningful and how one determines what is most important when little time is left. This deeply moving memoir reveals how much can be achieved through service and gratitude when a life is courageously and resiliently lived.” — Publishers Weekly “A moving meditation on mortality by a gifted writer whose dual perspectives of physician and patient provide a singular clarity . Kalanithi describes, clearly and simply, and entirely without self-pity, his journey from innocent medical student to professionally detached and all-powerful neurosurgeon to helpless patient, dying from cancer. Every doctor should read this book—written by a member of our own tribe, it helps us understand and overcome the barriers we all erect between ourselves and our patients as soon as we are out of medical school.” —Henry Marsh, author of Do No Harm: Stories of Life, Death, and Brain Surgery “A tremendous book, crackling with life, animated by wonder and by the question of how we should live. Paul Kalanithi lived and died in the pursuit of excellence, and by this testimonial, he achieved it.” —Gavin Francis, author of Adventures in Human Being.
Reviews
Find Best Price at Amazon"Ultimately there's not much triumph in it in the traditional sense but there is a dogged, quiet resilience and a frank earthiness that endures long after the last word appears. Dr. Kalanithi talks about his upbringing as the child of hardworking Indian immigrant parents and his tenacious and passionate espousal of medicine and literature. He speaks lovingly of his relationship with his remarkable wife - also a doctor - who he met in medical school and who played an outsized role in supporting him through everything he went through. He had a stunning and multifaceted career, studying biology and literature at Stanford, then history and philosophy of medicine at Cambridge, and finally neurosurgery at Yale. The mark of a man of letters is evident everywhere in the book, and quotes from Eliot, Beckett, Pope and Shakespeare make frequent appearances. Metaphors abound and the prose often soars: When describing how important it is to develop good surgical technique, he tells us that "Technical excellence was a moral requirement"; meanwhile, the overwhelming stress of late night shifts, hundred hour weeks and patients with acute trauma made him occasionally feel like he was "trapped in an endless jungle summer, wet with sweat, the rain of tears of the dying pouring down". The painful uncertainty which he documents - in particular the tyranny of statistics which makes it impossible to predict how a specific individual will react to cancer therapy - must sadly be familiar to anyone who has had experience with the disease. There are heartbreaking descriptions of how at one point the cancer seemed to have almost disappeared and how, after Dr. Kalanithi had again cautiously made plans for a hopeful future with his wife, it returned with a vengeance and he had to finally stop working."
"He says this, “The secret is to know that the deck is stacked, that you will lose, that your hands or judgment will slip, and yet still struggle to win …You can’t ever reach perfection, but you can believe in an asymptote toward which are ceaselessly striving. In the foreword by fellow doctor and writer Abraham Verghese, that doctor writes, “He (Paul) wasn’t writing about anything—he was writing about time and what it meant to him now, in the context of his illness.” And in the afterword by his wife Lucy, the meaning of that time becomes even clearer."
"The beautifully written epilogue, which was written by his wife Lucy, will break your heart, and give you hope at the same time. It never occurred to me that you could love someone the same way after he was gone, that I would continue to feel such love and gratitude alongside the terrible sorrow, the grief so heavy that at times I shiver and moan under the weight of it.""
#1 NEW YORK TIMES BESTSELLER • PULITZER PRIZE FINALIST • This inspiring, exquisitely observed memoir finds hope and beauty in the face of insurmountable odds as an idealistic young neurosurgeon attempts to answer the question What makes a life worth living? At the age of thirty-six, on the verge of completing a decade’s worth of training as a neurosurgeon, Paul Kalanithi was diagnosed with stage IV lung cancer. When Breath Becomes Air chronicles Kalanithi’s transformation from a naïve medical student “possessed,” as he wrote, “by the question of what, given that all organisms die, makes a virtuous and meaningful life” into a neurosurgeon at Stanford working in the brain, the most critical place for human identity, and finally into a patient and new father confronting his own mortality. I’ll go on.’” When Breath Becomes Air is an unforgettable, life-affirming reflection on the challenge of facing death and on the relationship between doctor and patient, from a brilliant writer who became both. And part comes from the way he conveys what happened to him—passionately working and striving, deferring gratification, waiting to live, learning to die—so well.” —Janet Maslin, The New York Times. The book brims with insightful reflections on mortality that are especially poignant coming from a trained physician familiar with what lies ahead.” — The Boston Globe. When Paul Kalanithi is given his diagnosis he is forced to see this disease, and the process of being sick, as a patient rather than a doctor--the result of his experience is not just a look at what living is and how it works from a scientific perspective, but the ins and outs of what makes life matter. As he wrote to a friend: ‘It’s just tragic enough and just imaginable enough.’ And just important enough to be unmissable.” —Janet Maslin, The New York Times “Paul Kalanithi’s memoir, When Breath Becomes Air, written as he faced a terminal cancer diagnosis, is inherently sad. It is, despite its grim undertone, accidentally inspiring.” — The Washington Post “Paul Kalanithi’s posthumous memoir, When Breath Becomes Air, possesses the gravity and wisdom of an ancient Greek tragedy. [Kalanithi] is so likeable, so relatable, and so humble, that you become immersed in his world and forget where it’s all heading.” — USA Today “It’s [Kalanithi’s] unsentimental approach that makes When Breath Becomes Air so original—and so devastating. Its only fault is that the book, like his life, ends much too early.” — Entertainment Weekly “[ When Breath Becomes Air ] split my head open with its beauty.” —Cheryl Strayed. “Rattling, heartbreaking, and ultimately beautiful, the too-young Dr. Kalanithi’s memoir is proof that the dying are the ones who have the most to teach us about life.” —Atul Gawande “Thanks to When Breath Becomes Air, those of us who never met Paul Kalanithi will both mourn his death and benefit from his life. Kalanithi strives to define his dual role as physician and patient, and he weighs in on such topics as what makes life meaningful and how one determines what is most important when little time is left. This deeply moving memoir reveals how much can be achieved through service and gratitude when a life is courageously and resiliently lived.” — Publishers Weekly “A moving meditation on mortality by a gifted writer whose dual perspectives of physician and patient provide a singular clarity . Every doctor should read this book—written by a member of our own tribe, it helps us understand and overcome the barriers we all erect between ourselves and our patients as soon as we are out of medical school.” —Henry Marsh, author of Do No Harm: Stories of Life, Death, and Brain Surgery “A tremendous book, crackling with life, animated by wonder and by the question of how we should live.
Reviews
Find Best Price at Amazon"Ultimately there's not much triumph in it in the traditional sense but there is a dogged, quiet resilience and a frank earthiness that endures long after the last word appears. Dr. Kalanithi talks about his upbringing as the child of hardworking Indian immigrant parents and his tenacious and passionate espousal of medicine and literature. He speaks lovingly of his relationship with his remarkable wife - also a doctor - who he met in medical school and who played an outsized role in supporting him through everything he went through. He had a stunning and multifaceted career, studying biology and literature at Stanford, then history and philosophy of medicine at Cambridge, and finally neurosurgery at Yale. The mark of a man of letters is evident everywhere in the book, and quotes from Eliot, Beckett, Pope and Shakespeare make frequent appearances. Metaphors abound and the prose often soars: When describing how important it is to develop good surgical technique, he tells us that "Technical excellence was a moral requirement"; meanwhile, the overwhelming stress of late night shifts, hundred hour weeks and patients with acute trauma made him occasionally feel like he was "trapped in an endless jungle summer, wet with sweat, the rain of tears of the dying pouring down". The painful uncertainty which he documents - in particular the tyranny of statistics which makes it impossible to predict how a specific individual will react to cancer therapy - must sadly be familiar to anyone who has had experience with the disease. There are heartbreaking descriptions of how at one point the cancer seemed to have almost disappeared and how, after Dr. Kalanithi had again cautiously made plans for a hopeful future with his wife, it returned with a vengeance and he had to finally stop working."
"He says this, “The secret is to know that the deck is stacked, that you will lose, that your hands or judgment will slip, and yet still struggle to win …You can’t ever reach perfection, but you can believe in an asymptote toward which are ceaselessly striving. In the foreword by fellow doctor and writer Abraham Verghese, that doctor writes, “He (Paul) wasn’t writing about anything—he was writing about time and what it meant to him now, in the context of his illness.” And in the afterword by his wife Lucy, the meaning of that time becomes even clearer."
"The beautifully written epilogue, which was written by his wife Lucy, will break your heart, and give you hope at the same time. It never occurred to me that you could love someone the same way after he was gone, that I would continue to feel such love and gratitude alongside the terrible sorrow, the grief so heavy that at times I shiver and moan under the weight of it.""
Now an HBO® Film starring Oprah Winfrey and Rose Byrne #1 NEW YORK TIMES BESTSELLER. Her name was Henrietta Lacks, but scientists know her as HeLa. #1 NEW YORK TIMES BESTSELLER Entertainment Weekly #1 Nonfiction Book of the Year New Yorker Reviewers’ Favorite. American Library Association Notable Book People Top Ten Book of the Year Washington Post Book World Top Ten Book of the Year. Salon.com Best Book of the Year USA Today Ten Books We Loved Reading O, The Oprah Magazine Top Ten Book of the Year. National Public Radio Best of the Bestsellers Boston Globe Best Nonfiction Book of the Year Financial Times Nonfiction Favorite Los Angeles Times Critics’ Pick Bloomberg Top Nonfiction New York magazine Top Ten Book of the Year. Slate.com Favorite Book of the Year. TheRoot.com Top Ten Book of the Year Discover magazine 2010 Must-Read Publishers Weekly Best Book of the Year Library Journal Top Ten Book of the Year Kirkus Reviews Best Nonfiction Book of the Year U.S. News & World Report Top Debate-Worthy Book Booklist Top of the List—Best Nonfiction Book New York Times /Science Bestseller list “I could not put the book down . “Science writing is often just about ‘the facts.’ Skloot’s book, her first, is far deeper, braver, and more wonderful.” —New York Times Book Review “ The Immortal Life of Henrietta Lacks is a triumph of science writing...one of the best nonfiction books I have ever read.” —Wired.com “ A deftly crafted investigation of a social wrong committed by the medical establishment, as well as the scientific and medical miracles to which it led.” —Washington Post “ Riveting...a tour-de-force debut.” —Chicago Sun-Times “A real-life detective story, The Immortal Life of Henrietta Lacks probes deeply into racial and ethical issues in medicine . an inspiring tale for all ages.” — Essence “This extraordinary account shows us that miracle workers, believers, and con artists populate hospitals as well as churches, and that even a science writer may find herself playing a central role in someone else’s mythology.” — The New Yorker “Has the epic scope of Greek drama, and a corresponding inability to be easily. explained away.” — SF Weekly “One of the great medical biographies of our time.” — The Financial Times “Like any good scientific research, this beautifully crafted and painstakingly researched book raises nearly as many questions as it answers . The Immortal Life of Henrietta Lacks is a heroic work of cultural and medical journalism.” —Laura Miller, Salon.com “No dead woman has done more for the living . a fascinating, harrowing, necessary book.” —Hilary Mantel, The Guardian (U.K.) “ The Immortal Life of Henrietta Lacks does more than one book ought to be able to do.” — Dallas Morning News “Above all it is a human story of redemption for a family, torn by loss, and for a writer with a vision that would not let go.” — Boston Globe “This remarkable story of how the cervical cells of the late Henrietta Lacks, a poor black woman, enabled subsequent discoveries from the polio vaccine to in vitro fertilization is extraordinary in itself; the added portrayal of Lacks's full life makes the story come alive with her humanity and the palpable relationship between race, science, and exploitation." If science has exploited Henrietta Lacks [Skloot] is determined not to. gives Henrietta Lacks another kind of immortality—this one through the discipline of good writing.” — Baltimore Sun “A work of both heart and mind, driven by the author’s passion for the story, which is as endlessly renewable as HeLa cells.” — Los Angeles Times “In this gripping, vibrant book, Rebecca Skloot looks beyond the scientific marvels to explore the ethical issues behind a discovery that may have saved your life.” — Mother Jones “More than ten years in the making, it feels like the book Ms. Skloot was born to write . Skloot, a young science journalist and an indefatigable researcher, writes about Henrietta Lacks and her impact on modern medicine from almost every conceivable angle and manages to make all of them fascinating . packed with memorable characters.” —Dwight Garner, New York Times , Top Ten Book of 2010 “Astonishing . .” — The Economist “Journalist Rebecca Skloot’s history of the miraculous cells reveals deep injustices in U.S. medical research.” — TIME “ The Immortal Life of Henrietta Lacks is a fascinating look at the woman whose cultured cells—the first to grow and survive indefinitely, harvested without compensation or consent—have become essential to modern medicine.” — Vogue “ The Immortal Life of Henrietta Lacks is a remarkable feat of investigative journalism and a moving work of narrative nonfiction that reads with the vividness and urgency of fiction. It also raises sometimes uncomfortable questions with no clear-cut answers about whether people should be remunerated for their physical, genetic contributions to research and about the role of profit in science.” — National Public Radio “An indelible, marvelous story as powerful as those cells.” — Philadelphia Inquirer “As much an act of justice as one of journalism.” — Seattle Times “A stunning book . I highly recommend this book.” —Jad Abumrad, Radiolab “Skloot is a terrific popularizer of medical science, guiding readers through this dense material with a light and entertaining touch.” — The Globe and Mail (Canada) “A rare and powerful combination of race, class, gender,medicine, bioethics, and intellectual property; far more rare is the writer that can so clearly fuse those disparate threads into a personal story so rich and compelling.” — Seed “Powerful story . Thank you for writing this important book.” —Kali-AhsetAmen, Radio Diaspora “Skloot has written an important work of immersive nonfiction that brings not only the stories of Henrietta Lacks and HeLa once more into line, but also catharsis to a family in sore need of it.” — The Times Literary Supplement “A masterful work of nonfiction . a real page turner.” —Hanna Rosin, Slate “Skloot explores human consequences of the intersection of science and business, rescuing one of modern medicine’s inadvertent pioneers from an unmarked grave.” — US News & World Report “Remarkably balanced and nonjudgmental . It reads like a novel but has the intellectual substance of a science textbook or a historical biography.” — The Daily Nebraskan “Illuminates what happens when medical research is conducted within an unequal health-care system and delivers an American narrative fraught with intrigue, tragedy, triumph, pathos, and redemption.” — MS. “ A tremendous accomplishment —a tale of important science history that reads like a terrific novel.” — Kansas City Star “Good science writing isn’t easy, but Skloot makes it appear so.” —The Wichita Eagle “Encompasses nearly every hot-button issue currently surrounding the practice of medicine.” — Madison Capital Times “Defies easy categorization . navigates both the technical and deeply personal sides of the HeLa story with clarity and care.” — The Portland Mercury “[A] remarkable book.” — London Review of Books “An essential reminder that all human cells grown in labs across the world, HeLa or otherwise, came from individuals with fears, desires, and stories to tell.” — Chemical & Engineering News “Blows away the notion that science writing must be the literary equivalent to Ambien.” — Chicago Tribune “Seldom do you read a book that is science, social history, and a page turner.” —British Medical Journal “Thrilling and original nonfiction that refuses to be shoehorned into anything as trivial as a genre. It is equal parts popular science, historical biography, and detective novel.” —Ed Yong, DISCOVER.COM “Best book I’ve read in years.” —Brian Sullivan, Fox Business Network “Thanks to Rebecca Skloot, we may now remember Henrietta—who she was, how she lived, how she died.” — The New Republic “We need more writers like Rebecca Skloot.” —E.O.Wilson.
Reviews
Find Best Price at Amazon"This was a great book that I'm so glad I read."
"In “The Immortal Life of Henrietta Lacks,” Rebecca Skloot introduces us to the “real live woman,” the children who survived her, and the interplay of race, poverty, science and one of the most important medical discoveries of the last 100 years. Skloot narrates the science lucidly, tracks the racial politics of medicine thoughtfully and tells the Lacks family’s often painful history with grace. When science appears, it does so effortlessly, with explanations of cell anatomy or techniques like “fluorescence in situ hybridization” seamlessly worked into descriptions of the coloured wards of Johns Hopkins hospital to Lacks’s hometown of Clover, Virginia. And yet for all its grand scope, skilful writing and touching compassion, there is one simple element that makes As a final thought, I was struck by the parallels between Henrietta’s cells and her story."
"I appreciated that the book served to give voice to the people whose lives it narrated, and even to financially serve the Lacks family with an educational scholarship."
"Its medical research alone is of historical value to people of all ethnicities."
"Most excellent book."
Best Medical Anatomy
View anatomy from a clinical perspective with hundreds of exquisite, hand-painted illustrations created by pre-eminent medical illustrator Frank H. Netter, MD. During his student years, Dr. Netter’s notebook sketches attracted the attention of the medical faculty and other physicians, allowing him to augment his income by illustrating articles and textbooks. Now translated into 16 languages, it is the anatomy atlas of choice among medical and health professions students the world over. No matter how beautifully painted, how delicately and subtly rendered a subject may be, it is of little value as a medical illustration if it does not serve to make clear some medical point. Dr. Netter’s planning, conception, point of view, and approach are what inform his paintings and what make them so intellectually valuable.
Reviews
Find Best Price at Amazon"This atlas is amazing with beautiful anatomical drawings with color codes to help you study and memorize every piece of the human body."
"Excellent book."
"Buy this one the first time and save yourself!"
"The contents of this anatomy atlas are remarkable."
"I reccomend thos to my radiography students every year."
"This book is so cool."
"I purchased this book as new and instead I got one with a sticker on the back of the last page and with coffee or something spilled all over it, the first pages were even like stuck together due to this coffee."
"Hopefully, this version will be compatible for my coursework as it is more of a pain to return this and hopefully get the correct version in time for school."
Best Bacteriology
Ebola, SARS, Hendra, AIDS, and countless other deadly viruses all have one thing in common: the bugs that transmit these diseases all originate in wild animals and pass to humans by a process called spillover. He also adds a powerful measure of moral witness: ecological destruction is greatly to blame for our current peril.”. - Dwight Garner, The New York Times. That bodes well for his new book, whose subject really is thriller-worthy: how deadly diseases (AIDS, SARS, Ebola) make the leap from animals to humans, and how, where, and when the next pandemic might emerge.”. - Kathryn Schulz, New York Magazine. “[ Spillover is] David Quammen’s absorbing, lively and, yes, occasionally gory trek through the animal origins of emerging human diseases.”. - Cleveland Plain Dealer.
Reviews
Find Best Price at Amazon"I read this for a biology class and it was a good read."
"David Quammen draws on his many travels, interviews, and research to paint vivid stories about the history of a handful of zoonotic diseases and the science used to study them."
"The book seeks not only to enlighten us to thrilling tales of discovery but also urges us to examine our role in these emerging viruses."
"I initially purchased this book for a microbiology class that required outside reading and I wanted something other than The Hot Zone. If I had any single critique, it is that some of the scientific terms are almost over explained to a point of tediousness at times but I can understand why since most people reading this book likely don't have a strong background in zoonotic diseases and the terms associated with them."
"But recently there have been programs that have basically cleared an area of deer (much easier to do that than with mice) and new case of Lyme dropped by over 90%."
"It's probably the most informative discussion of the potential "manure hitting the oscillator" since "The Coming Plague" by Laurie Garrett which close to twenty years after it's original publication still has the capacity to raise the hair on the back of your head."
"The author explains extremely difficult subjects and concepts such that a lay person can readily understand them and covers diverse items from the origin of the AIDS virus in Cameroon (the who, the where and the how - as he puts it), to an outbreak of tent caterpillars in Montana."
Best Biostatistics
Winner of the 2014 Technometrics Ziegel Prize for Outstanding Book Applied Predictive Modeling covers the overall predictive modeling process, beginning with the crucial steps of data preprocessing, data splitting and foundations of model tuning. "There are a wide variety of books available on predictive analytics and data modeling around the web...we've carefully selected the following 10 books, based on relevance, popularity, online ratings, and their ability to add value to your business. "This monograph presents a very friendly practical course on prediction techniques for regression and classification models...The authors are recognized experts in modeling and forecasting , as well as developers of R packages and statistical methodologies...It is a well-written book very useful to students and practitioners who need an immediate and helpful way to apply complex statistical techniques." However, in my judgment, Applied Predictive Modeling by Max Kuhn and Kjell Johnson (Springer 2013) ought to be at the very top of the reading list ...They come across like coaches who really, really want you to be able to do this stuff.
Reviews
Find Best Price at Amazon"I read "Applied predictive modeling" (which I will shorten to APM) shortly after I read "Introduction to statistical learning" (ISL) by James, Witten, Hastie and Tibshirani, and find that book both closest to APM, and helpful in highlighting APM's strengths. Adopting H&T's terminology choice, I will say that both books combine theory of "statistical learning" with hands-on illustrations and exercises implemented in R; the get-your-hands-dirty, try-it-out element is, in fact, ISL's key difference from the earlier, venerable "Elements of statistical learning"."
"Max Kuhn is a legend in R like Hadley Wickham."
"I read this cover to cover, it's incredibly well written without sacrificing technical explanation."
"Great book for understanding concepts, and the R code can be used right away in your own projects."
"Excellent insights on the strengths and weaknesses of traditional machine learning models."
"This book is really good for those who want doing some data analysis!"
"It addresses very important concepts in predictive modeling (i.e., over-fitting and predictor's reduction) and provides efficient R codes for testing."
"And by using R, a freely accessible language, the writers ensure the reader will be able to immediately apply the information in the real world."
Best Cell Biology
She was a poor Southern tobacco farmer who worked the same land as her slave ancestors, yet her cells—taken without her knowledge—became one of the most important tools in medicine. HeLa cells were vital for developing the polio vaccine; uncovered secrets of cancer, viruses, and the atom bomb’s effects; helped lead to important advances like in vitro fertilization, cloning, and gene mapping; and have been bought and sold by the billions. Now Rebecca Skloot takes us on an extraordinary journey, from the “colored” ward of Johns Hopkins Hospital in the 1950s to stark white laboratories with freezers full of HeLa cells; from Henrietta’s small, dying hometown of Clover, Virginia—a land of wooden slave quarters, faith healings, and voodoo—to East Baltimore today, where her children and grandchildren live and struggle with the legacy of her cells. Amazon Best Books of the Month, February 2010 : From a single, abbreviated life grew a seemingly immortal line of cells that made some of the most crucial innovations in modern science possible. Henrietta Lacks was a mother of five in Baltimore, a poor African American migrant from the tobacco farms of Virginia, who died from a cruelly aggressive cancer at the age of 30 in 1951. A sample of her cancerous tissue, taken without her knowledge or consent, as was the custom then, turned out to provide one of the holy grails of mid-century biology: human cells that could survive--even thrive--in the lab. Meanwhile, Henrietta's family continued to live in poverty and frequently poor health, and their discovery decades later of her unknowing contribution--and her cells' strange survival--left them full of pride, anger, and suspicion. Jad Abumrad is host and creator of the public radio hit Radiolab , now in its seventh season and reaching over a million people monthly. Just the simple facts are hard to believe: that in 1951, a poor black woman named Henrietta Lacks dies of cervical cancer, but pieces of the tumor that killed her--taken without her knowledge or consent--live on, first in one lab, then in hundreds, then thousands, then in giant factories churning out polio vaccines, then aboard rocket ships launched into space. The cells from this one tumor would spawn a multi-billion dollar industry and become a foundation of modern science--leading to breakthroughs in gene mapping, cloning and fertility and helping to discover how viruses work and how cancer develops (among a million other things). But what's truly remarkable about Rebecca Skloot 's book is that we also get the rest of the story, the part that could have easily remained hidden had she not spent ten years unearthing it: Who was Henrietta Lacks?
Reviews
Find Best Price at Amazon"This was a great book that I'm so glad I read."
"In “The Immortal Life of Henrietta Lacks,” Rebecca Skloot introduces us to the “real live woman,” the children who survived her, and the interplay of race, poverty, science and one of the most important medical discoveries of the last 100 years. Skloot narrates the science lucidly, tracks the racial politics of medicine thoughtfully and tells the Lacks family’s often painful history with grace. When science appears, it does so effortlessly, with explanations of cell anatomy or techniques like “fluorescence in situ hybridization” seamlessly worked into descriptions of the coloured wards of Johns Hopkins hospital to Lacks’s hometown of Clover, Virginia. And yet for all its grand scope, skilful writing and touching compassion, there is one simple element that makes As a final thought, I was struck by the parallels between Henrietta’s cells and her story."
"The author did a great job of allowing the reader to decide if Henrietta's family should have profited from her cells."
"After reading about Henrietta Lacks, I began thinking about all the blood tests I've had done, and some minor surgeries I've had and I constantly wondered, what did those doctors and/or hospitals do with my tissues and/or blood? I realize there are laws in place now that weren't there when Henrietta lived, but to read how Dr. Gey took samples of Henrietta's cancerous tumor and used it to advance science and medicine as we know of it today, is mind-boggling. All of us living today should be thankful for Henrietta because she has done something that no one else seems to ever have been able to do, which is live immortally. Lacks' cells, while her family continues to live in poverty. I learned so much about cells and DNA, not to mention that just about every pill I've ever taken, most likely was the result of Henrietta's cells, which still grow today."
"When a friend recommended this book I'd never heard of Henrietta Lacks or HeLa."
Best Embryology
Icon Learning Systems acquired the Netter Collection in July 2000 and continued to update Dr. Netter’s original paintings and to add newly commissioned paintings by artists trained in the style of Dr. Netter. The 13-book Netter Collection of Medical Illustrations, which includes the greater part of the more than 20,000 paintings created by Dr. Netter, became and remains one of the most famous medical works ever published. The Netter Atlas of Human Anatomy, first published in 1989, presents the anatomic paintings from the Netter Collection. No matter how beautifully painted, how delicately and subtly rendered a subject may be, it is of little value as a medical illustration if it does not serve to make clear some medical point. Dr. Netter’s planning, conception, point of view, and approach are what inform his paintings and what make them so intellectually valuable. Enter your model number to make sure this fits.
Reviews
Find Best Price at Amazon"This is hanging in my daughter's family room in her apartment and she and her roommates use it to study for anatomy as part of the doctorate in physical therapy."
"I was not happy that one side of chart was wrinkled and damaged when it arrived..."
"Great poster!"
"I bought this for my sister and she loved all of the details!"
"This is a quality item, and is exactly as described and pictured: not too big, not too small, laminated, and with a couple of metal grommets that make hanging convenient."
"I plan on putting it in a frame and hope the frame shop can make it look nice."
"This chart came with many uncorrectable creases."
Best Genetics
THE #1 NEW YORK TIMES BESTSELLER. A New York Times Notable Book. A Washington Post and Seattle Times Best Book of the Year From the Pulitzer Prize-winning author of The Emperor of All Maladies —a fascinating history of the gene and “a magisterial account of how human minds have laboriously, ingeniously picked apart what makes us tick” ( Elle ). “A fascinating and often sobering history of how humans came to understand the roles of genes in making us who we are—and what our manipulation of those genes might mean for our future” ( Milwaukee Journal-Sentinel ), The Gene is the revelatory and magisterial history of a scientific idea coming to life, the most crucial science of our time, intimately explained by a master. Here, he follows up with a biography of the gene—and The Gene is just as informative, wise, and well-written as that first book.
Reviews
Find Best Price at Amazon"The volume benefits from Mukherjee’s elegant literary style, novelist’s eye for character sketches and expansive feel for human history. Mendel was an abbot in a little known town in Central Europe whose pioneering experiments on pea plants provided the first window into the gene and evolution. Eugenics has now acquired a bad reputation, but Galton was a polymath who made important contributions to science by introducing statistics and measurements in the study of genetic differences. Many of the early eugenicists subscribed to the racial theories that were common in those days; many of them were well intended if patronizing, seeking to ‘improve the weak’, but they did not see the ominous slippery slope which they were on. Eugenics was enthusiastically supported in the United States; Mukherjee discusses the infamous Supreme Court case in which Oliver Wendell Holmes sanctioned the forced sterilization of an unfortunate woman named Carrie Buck by proclaiming, “Three generations of imbeciles are enough”. Another misuse of genetics was by Trofim Lysenko who tried to use Lamarck’s theories of acquired characteristics in doomed agricultural campaigns in Stalinist Russia; as an absurd example, he tried to “re educate” wheat using “shock therapy”. Mutations in specific genes (for instance ones causing changes in eye color) allowed them to track the flow of genetic material through several generations. The scientists most important for recognizing this fact were Frederick Griffiths and Oswald Avery and Mukherjee tells their story well; however I would have appreciated a fuller account of Friedrich Miescher who discovered DNA in pus bandages from soldiers. All these events set the stage for the golden age of molecular biology, the deciphering of the structure of DNA by James Watson (to whom the quote in the title is attributed), Francis Crick, Rosalind Franklin and others. Many of these pioneers were inspired by a little book by physicist Erwin Schrodinger which argued that the gene could be understood using precise principles of physics and chemistry; his arguments turned biology into a reductionist science. As a woman in a man’s establishment Franklin was in turn patronized and sidelined, but unlike Watson and Crick she was averse to building models and applying the principles of chemistry to the problem, two traits that were key to the duo’s success. The book then talks about early successes in correlating genes with illness that came with the advent of the human genome and epigenome; genetics has been very useful in finding determinants and drugs for diseases like sickle cell anemia, childhood leukemia, breast cancer and cystic fibrosis. Mukherjee especially has an excellent account of Nancy Wexler, the discoverer of the gene causing Huntington’s disease, whose search for its origins led her to families stricken with the malady in remote parts of Venezuela. The basic verdict is that while there is undoubtedly a genetic component to all these factors, the complex interplay between genes and environment means that it’s very difficult currently to tease apart influences from the two. The last part of the book focuses on some cutting edge research on genetics that’s uncovering both potent tools for precise gene engineering as well as deep insights into human evolution. There are a few minor scientific infelicities: for instance Linus Pauling’s structure of DNA was not really flawed because of a lack of magnesium ions but mainly because it sported a form of the phosphate groups that wouldn’t exist at the marginally alkaline pH of the human body. The book’s treatment of the genetic code leaves out some key exciting moments, such as when a scientific bombshell from biochemist Marshall Nirenberg disrupted a major meeting in the former Soviet Union. Nor is there much exploration of using gene sequences to illuminate the ‘tree of life’ which Darwin tantalizingly pulled the veil back on: in general I would have appreciated a bigger discussion of how DNA connects us to all living creatures. Its sweeping profile of life’s innermost secrets could not help but remind me of a Japanese proverb quoted by physicist Richard Feynman: “To every man is given the key to the gates of heaven."
"There are abundant scientific notions to satisfy any reader picking up the book to understand the real subject matter, but not in the general bland fashion of studies-and-conclusions that tend to lose many a lay people. From the notions of introns and exons to the polygenic nature of most phenotypes, the feedback from environment to gene mutation and the massive role played by non-gene factors in most our traits, the author uncovers a staggering number of interesting findings in a highly understandable manner. As professionals or parents seek to weed out certain deformities, there are genuine risks of us eliminating some important evolutionary traits mainly out of ignorance of how genes really work at this stage but also out of their possible other utilities in long future."
Best Histology
![002: Myofascial Pain and Dysfunction: The Trigger Point Manual; Vol. 2., The Lower Extremities [Hardcover] [Oct 09, 1992] Janet G. Travell and David G. Simons](https://images-na.ssl-images-amazon.com/images/I/51ab%2BNZAO8L._SS600_.jpg)
Volume 1 provided a thorough understanding of what myofascial pain actually is, and discussed the approach to effective diagnosis and treatment of the syndrome from the waist up.
Reviews
Find Best Price at Amazon"Good condition and highly recommended for anyone treating musculoskeletal problems for clients or patients."
"All pages were clearly intact, no rips, tears, or stains."
"The master of the trigger point and the research to back it up."
"This book is amazing!"
"Must have book if you are treating myofascial trigger points."
"This book, for the lower body trigger points, is the compliment of Volume 1, for the upper body."
"Every thing that I needed in Vol."
Best Immunology
Now, in The Wahls Protocol, she shares the details of the protocol that allowed her to reverse many of her symptoms, get back to her life, and embark on a new mission: to share the Wahls Protocol with others suffering from the ravages of multiple sclerosis and other autoimmune conditions. Terry L. Wahls, M.D., is a clinical professor of medicine at the University of Iowa Carver College of Medicine in Iowa City and the director of the Therapeutic Lifestyle Clinic at the Iowa City Veterans Affairs Health Care System, where she treats veterans with autoimmune, neurological, and medical problems using diet and lifestyle interventions.
Reviews
Find Best Price at Amazon"Even though I'm definitely NOT grateful for having this disease, I truly believe my loved ones, future children and I obtained the most valuable information we have come across as a consequence of my MS. In this book, Dr Wahls goes into detail about every aspect of the dietary and lifestyle changes she recommends, which includes supplements, exercise, electrical stimulation, meditation, etc., and she details three different versions of the Wahls diet so anyone can find a level they can learn to live with. I actually convinced my wife and my mother to read the book and follow different levels of the protocol with me for one month. It has been three weeks today, and the results have been noticeable: - I have RRMS, and am still in early stages of the disease so when I'm in remission, which is 90% of the time, I have no symptoms. She feels a lot more rested and the Polar Loop is actually measuring and showing these results as concrete data. Additionally, she used to get headaches at work about once a week, and hasn't had a single one since following the Wahls Paleo. I have now read many other books by Sarah Ballantyne, Dr. Perlmutter, Amy Myers, Jimmy Moore, etc., I have found countless Blogs and Cookbooks, and I even have iOS Apps that make my life way easier (MyPaleoPal is excellent for tracking and ideas, for example). I now enjoy eating and even cooking more than I ever had before, and my entire family is still reaping the benefits from all this knowledge. Just to detail a bit more: I follow the Wahls Paleo Plus diet, mixed together with the AIP just to make it a little more challenging. This means no nuts, seeds, nightshades, or coffee, on top of Dr Wahls' strictest protocol. I also swim every other day, meditate and work my core muscles daily, and sleep 7.5-8.5 hours every night. You be the judge: my last relapse was over a year ago, I can now bike for 45minutes and totally withstand heat sensitivity, I can swim for as long as I want to, I walked over 120,000 steps in a week last december during Christmas break (used a pedometer to keep track), I'm sleeping like a baby, and, MOST IMPORTANT: I stopped my MS medication two weeks ago (under my neurologist's supervision of course, and having sworn to go back on it if my status changes negatively)."
"The book is so easy to read, and it is set up pretty much the way I spent my first year changing my diet. I loved reading Chapter 7 - Wahls Paleo Plus, because that is the way I basically eat now, strictly and consistently. This new book is an easier read, but still full of Dr. Wahls passion for sharing this vital information, and getting it right. Her life is at stake, and she wants to help as many people as she can - in my opinion, it is obvious that this book is a true labor of love for her. I rarely left the house, except for appointments that I couldn't put off any longer, or family celebrations with the our grown kids. My husband, whose busy career took much of his time, did the best he could, which meant my diet was mostly easy processed food or take-out. A few weeks after I sold/gave my beloved Prius to my son, my daughter urged me to look into some doctor that had MS and wrote a book about how she healed herself with diet. I had a slight increase in energy, and cleaned a tiny spot of kitchen counter between the sink and the coffee maker. I had stopped eating white potatoes, and soon started avoiding soy, legumes all processed and packaged foods. After a year, a friend offered to drive me to the gym again, so I started working out a bit, and she helped me move between machines. Finally I started taking my walker, and then made my husband buy a car so I could have his Prius - I needed my independence back, and I was ready. My gym workouts were good for a while but I began to hurt myself; I could barely remember how to walk, because my body was so messed up. I started working with a personal trainer at the gym, after he actually convinced me that he could wake up my severely weakened muscles, when giving me a free hour-long evaluation where I could not even do a squat, or get up from the floor. I can now do a deadlift with 115 pound weight, I can squat, carry bags of groceries upstairs, and take many different classes at the gym, with modifications, such as Zumba, spinning, step, yoga, Pilates, and I love to walk outside to get the fresh air and sunshine. I finally bought a Vitamix (I stopped juicing - I want the nutrients in my body) and I still use it every single day for getting a huge amount of veggies and berries. I had been on weight loss diets all my life, and that was a struggle, because I could never shake my addiction to sweets, carbs, etc. Terry also talks about the importance of moving our bodies and having strong emotional bonds with the people in our lives. That last one has been harder for me in the last year, and the stress of it taught me a lot about how my body reacts to negative thoughts in my mind."
Best Microbiology
Praised for its exceptionally clear presentation of complex topics, this #1-selling text for microbiology non-majors provides a careful balance of concepts and applications, proven art that teaches and the most robust, dynamic media in MasteringMicrobiology. The Twelfth Edition ofTortora, Funke, and Case’s Microbiology: An Introduction focuses on big picture concepts and themes in microbiology, encouraging students to visualize and synthesize tough topics such as microbial metabolism, immunology, and microbial genetics. He belongs to numerous biology/microbiology organizations, including the American Society of Microbiology (ASM), Human Anatomy and Physiology Society (HAPS), American Association for the Advancement of Science (AAAS), National Education Association (NEA), New Jersey Educational Association (NJEA), and the Metropolitan Association of College and University Biologists (MACUB). He has spent his professional years as a professor of microbiology at North Dakota State University. He taught introductory microbiology, including laboratory sections, general microbiology, food microbiology, soil microbiology, clinical parasitology, and pathogenic microbiology. As a research scientist in the Experiment Station at North Dakota State, he has published numerous papers on soil microbiology and food microbiology.
Reviews
Find Best Price at Amazon"I purchased this book for school."
"I hate carrying this heavy, oversized book along everywhere I go."
"The tables helped out wen I was reading the chapters, and the drawings were exceptional!"
"Arrive on time, Perfect in all shape, color as in the image, there is wear and tear,but I like it."
"Book was exactly as described."
"This book was inexpensive to rent and it was very detailed."
"Excellent book with great photographs and diagrams."
"It seems to be easy to use and read and it’s nice to have it as a reference during lectures and assignments."
Best Neuroanatomy
Veterinary Neuroanatomy: A Clinical Approach is written by veterinary neurologists for anyone with an interest in the functional, applied anatomy and clinical dysfunction of the nervous system in animals, especially when of veterinary significance. Veterinary Neuroanatomy: A Clinical Approach has been prepared by experienced educators with 35 years of combined teaching experience in neuroanatomy. Keeps to simple language and focuses on the key concepts Unique ‘NeuroMaps’ outline the location of the functional systems within the nervous system and provide simple, visual aids to understanding and interpreting the results of the clinical neurological examination The anatomical appendix provides 33 high-resolution gross images of the intact and sliced dog brain and detailed histological images of the sectioned sheep brainstem. This is an enjoyable and informative book...I enjoyed reading this book and found it very illumainating on a subject I already feel I know reasonably well... each section contained a fresh perspective or new information that enhanced my understanding of functional neuroanatomy.
Reviews
Find Best Price at Amazon"That being said, I would not recommend this book as your only source of study."
"This is an awesome neuro book."
"I have been teaching small animal clinical neurology for more than 20 years and at last, here is a book that gets it just right in terms of content - a mix of appropriate neuroanatomy, neurophysiology and clinical problem-solving for neurological cases."
"I purchased this book for my second year of vet school and I LOVE it."
"The gift of teaching that Christine Thomson possesses is extended into the written form."
"Where other books (such as de Lahunta) may be more detailed, they can be harder to read and sometimes you don't see the wood for the trees (though I'm still learning from de Lahunta on the 3rd or 4th read and it makes an excellent reference text)."
"This book provides a concise, comprehensive, and complete clinically oriented introduction to veterinary neuroanatomy and neurophysiology."
"This was/is a great resource that helped clarify multiple concepts I had difficulty grasping in class (ex."
Best Nosology
Intuitively organized into 17 sections of code tables with supplementary definitions tables and device and body part keys, the Optum360 ICD-10-PCS code book sets the standard for coding accuracy which is the cornerstone of healthcare analytics and revenue cycle management. Ease into the new classification system using these handy code tables to build the code through character value selections that reflect the procedure performed. This edition includes all our hallmark color-coding and symbols for the most comprehensive coverage of ICD10 MS-DRG MCEs for procedures including: non-covered procedures, limited coverage procedures, combination only procedures, non-operating room procedures affecting MS-DRG assignment, non-operating room procedures NOT affecting MS-DRG assignment, hospital acquired condition (HAC) related procedures.
Reviews
Find Best Price at Amazon"Excellent."
"Arrived in good condition."
"Needed for school and it was perfect."
"This book arrived in new condition just like the description stated."
"I use this manual for school studies and practice for coding and it really serves its purpose."
"My wife also used this book for her Medical Coding class together with CPT book."
Best Pathophysiology
This edition includes a NEW Epigenetics and Disease chapter along with. additional What’s New boxes. highlighting the latest advances in pathophysiology. Over 1,200 full-color illustrations and photographs depict the clinical manifestations of disease and disease processes ― more than in any other pathophysiology text. EXTENSIVELY Updated content reflects advances in pathophysiology including tumor biology invasion and metastases, the epidemiology of cancer, diabetes mellitus, insulin resistance, thyroid and adrenal gland disorders, female reproductive disorders including benign breast diseases and breast cancer, and a separate chapter on male reproductive disorders and cancer.
Reviews
Find Best Price at Amazon"Very in depth look into how the body works."
"Good book."
"Slight highlighting ang cover aging signs, and what looks like a coffee stain."
"Product was just as described."
"Amazing book, informative."
"Very difficult to follow."
"Very stiff language , no flow , need to read twice to understand."
Best Physiology
Each chapter opens with a visual “Chapter Roadmap” that guides students through the material and shows how concepts are related within and across chapters. The new modular organization makes key concepts more readily apparent and understandable to students, and new videos help students see why the content matters in their course as well as their future careers. Within its structured environment, students practice what they learn, test their understanding, and. pursue a personalized study plan that helps them better absorb course material and understand difficult concepts. While teaching at Holyoke Community College, where many of her students were pursuing nursing degrees, she developed a desire to better understand the relationship between the scientific study of the human body and the clinical aspects of the nursing practice. To that end, while continuing to teach full time, Dr. Marieb pursued her nursing education, which culminated in a Master of Science degree with a clinical specialization in gerontology from the University of Massachusetts. She contributes to the New Directions, New Careers Program at Holyoke Community College by funding a staffed drop-in center and by providing several full-tuition scholarships each year for women who are returning to college after a hiatus or attending college for the first time and who would be unable to continue their studies without financial support. She funds the E. N. Marieb Science Research Awards at Mount Holyoke College, which promotes research by undergraduate science majors, and has underwritten renovation and updating of one of the biology labs in Clapp Laboratory at that college. In 1994, Dr. Marieb received the Benefactor Award from the National Council for Resource Development, American Association of Community Colleges, which recognizes her ongoing sponsorship of student scholarships, faculty teaching awards, and other academic contributions to Holyoke Community College. These include a PanCanadian Educational Technology Faculty Award (1999), a Teaching Excellence Award from the Students’ Association of Mount Royal (2001), and the Mount Royal Distinguished Faculty Teaching Award (2004). Following Dr. Marieb’s example, Dr. Hoehn provides financial support for students in the form of a scholarship that she established in 2006 for nursing students at Mount Royal University.
Reviews
Find Best Price at Amazon"I just received the "Human Anatomy & Physiology, Books a la Carte Plus MasteringA&P with eText -- Access Card Package (9th Edition)". Also, it might be important to note that I ordered this book directly from Amazon and not from someone who is using Amazon to sell their book. When you look at the reviews for "Human Anatomy & Physiology" it will show reviews from people who received the hardcover book, the kindle book, and the 3-holed punched book. When ordering make sure you order "Human Anatomy & Physiology, Books a la Carte Plus MasteringA&P with eText -- Access Card Package (9th Edition)" if you need the full package. However, if you copy and paste the full title: "Human Anatomy & Physiology, Books a la Carte Plus MasteringA&P with eText -- Access Card Package (9th Edition)", you should be able to find the correct package. It's usually nothing a little tape couldn't correct but if you are the kind of person who is rough on their books, turns pages aggressively, throws their books across the room, then you might want to invest in the hard cover book."
"I just do not see the justification to charge someone almost $200 for a new book when the previous edition is almost the exact same, with just replacing of pictures. Always try to get the previous edition if you can, your save a lot of money, around 1/5 the price. These publishers just drive me nuts, I understand they need to make money, but come on, most of these books are never completely rewritten and they come out with a new edition every 2-3 years and those editions like this one, are almost exactly the same, except for replacement of pictures and a few updated stories/examples. Getting the older book, will save you money, so you will be able to purchase the other software."
"But if you're going to school on your own dime, or want to saver your parents a good bit of $$, or you don't want to make your school loans a good bit bigger than they have to be: Join those of us that almost ALWAYS buy the older edition for most all classes that still require a hard book. JSUK, we're the ones that look a little confused in class sometimes... & Just as an fyi, the money I saved on just 2-3 of my books (medical term & this AP class-both this book & the lab manual) more than paid for my entire medical reference library. The only reason I took off 1 star is because its an outdated edition for most classes so you have to work harder sometimes to get the same info."
Best Virology
The Hot Zone tells this dramatic story, giving a hair-raising account of the appearance of rare and lethal viruses and their "crashes" into the human race. The dramatic and chilling story of an Ebola virus outbreak in a surburban Washington, D.C. laboratory, with descriptions of frightening historical epidemics of rare and lethal viruses.
Reviews
Find Best Price at Amazon"I'm writing this review now because, 1- the current (July 2014) outbreak of Ebola is "the deadliest in recorded history," and 2- I've NEVER forgotten the book. The thing that is so terrifying is the way the poor people who contract the disease die."
"I learned a lot about the virus. After reading this book, im able to read between the headlines of what is being said and more importantly, what's NOT being said. Medical researchers working with the virus give share their information."
"I bought this book in its hard-cover version when it first came out, quite a few years ago, and what with the recent Ebola crisis in Africa and now in the news here in the U.S., I wanted to re-read it. I am dismayed that the CDC is still "learning" how to contain this disease, when the knowledge has been in use by the U.S. Army, and various charitable organizations in Africa for many years."
"A scary, eye opening book about Ebola. He describes in detail the Ebola Reston outbreak in Maryland."
"A must read for anyone who wants the scientific truth about this disease, how it can be spread & how easily & quickly it can mutate."
"Although twenty years old, the information is timely and so. pertinent for our age when Ebola is devastating Africa and may be advancing thought the world."
"Because you will be terrified every time you have a tiny headache. Because you will want strangers to stay far away from you, especially if they are breathing. Because you will realise that your government, our government, the government will probably be unable to stop a proper Ebola virus. Because you will forgive the sometimes over detailed writing because you are completely absorbed in the horror. Because this is not fiction, this is real, this is here, this is now. And this is a gripping, interesting, well put together, well researched non-fiction book that reads like an adventure, a horror and a thriller all at once. Viruses are clever little buggers and best we be afraid."