Summary and Reviews of In Pursuit of Memory by Joseph Jebelli

In Pursuit of Memory by Joseph Jebelli

In Pursuit of Memory

The Fight Against Alzheimer's

by Joseph Jebelli
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  • First Published:
  • Oct 31, 2017, 320 pages
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About This Book

Book Summary

For readers of Atul Gawande, Siddhartha Mukherjee, and Henry Marsh, a riveting, gorgeously written biography of one of history's most fascinating and confounding diseases - Alzheimer's - from its discovery more than 100 years ago to today's race towards a cure.

Alzheimer's is the great global epidemic of our time, affecting millions worldwide - there are more than 5 million people diagnosed in the US alone. And as our population ages, scientists are working against the clock to find a cure.

Neuroscientist Joseph Jebelli is among them. His beloved grandfather had Alzheimer's and now he's written the book he needed then - a very human history of this frightening disease. But In Pursuit of Memory is also a thrilling scientific detective story that takes you behind the headlines. Jebelli's quest takes us from nineteenth-century Germany and post-war England, to the jungles of Papua New Guinea and the technological proving grounds of Japan; through America, India, China, Iceland, Sweden, and Colombia. Its heroes are scientists from around the world - many of whom he's worked with - and the brave patients and families who have changed the way that researchers think about the disease.

This compelling insider's account shows vividly why Jebelli feels so hopeful about a cure, but also why our best defense in the meantime is to understand the disease. In Pursuit of Memory is a clever, moving, eye-opening guide to the threat one in three of us faces now.

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Reviews

BookBrowse Review

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Jebelli's writing style is comparable to that of Siddhartha Mukherjee, Ed Yong and Atul Gawande. His prose is perhaps not quite as lively and literary as theirs, but his book's importance outweighs any minor infelicities of style. What matters most is that he conveys scientific facts in a clear way the layman can understand; in addition, as in Mukherjee's The Gene, he balances history and research with a personal medical story almost any reader can relate to...continued

Full Review (653 words)

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(Reviewed by Rebecca Foster).

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Beyond the Book



Did You Know? Eight Alzheimer's Facts

Joseph Jebelli's In Pursuit of Memory is full of fascinating facts about Alzheimer's disease. We've picked out a handful you might not know already.

  1. The specific mutation associated with Alzheimer's disease was discovered on chromosome 21 in 1991. Because Down's syndrome also involves chromosome 21 (specifically, an extra copy of it - which is why Down's syndrome is also known as trisomy 21), virtually all Down's patients will develop Alzheimer's.
  2. William Utermohlen was an American artist who lived in London and found out in 1995 that he had Alzheimer's. Over the next five years he painted a series of self-portraits that became increasingly blurry, reflecting his decline.
  3. Measures that may help prevent Alzheimer's include avoiding ...

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Read-Alikes

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