Rebel Cell: Cancer, Evolution, and the New Science of Life's Oldest Betrayal by Kat Arney ~ a Review

by Donna Huber

I love science, particularly biology, but to be completely honest cell biology is not one of my favorite subjects. I listened to Siddhartha Mukherjee's The Gene a few years ago and enjoyed it so I thought I would give Kat Arney's Rebel Cell a chance.

Amazon affiliate links are used on this site. A free book was provided for an honest review.

September 2020; BenBella Books; 978-1950665303
ebook, print (352 pages); nonfiction

Like everyone in the world, I would love for us to cure cancer. But beyond that, I don't really think about cancer or have much interest in cancer research. In other words, I probably wouldn't have sought out this book. If you are interested in learning more about what science knows about cancer, the advances that have been made in treatments, and if it is possible to cure cancer, then this is the book for you.

The text was a little drier than I would have liked, but it also does not read like an academic text. I imagine this would be a great book for one of those non-majors/freshman-level seminar classes that are more general interest. 

While reading Rebel Cell, I never once had to resort to Google to understand what I was reading. (I rely on Google when reading cell and molecular biology research papers for work.) And if you don't get what a term means from the context, there is a helpful glossary provided (I also didn't need to turn to it as unfamiliar terms were well explained in the text).

There are definitely some interesting facts shared. I didn't know hydra, or a number of other lower organisms, could get cancer. I also didn't realize some of the advances that had been made with cancer. While it seems like we are never going to win the war on cancer - progress has been made and battles have been won. 

The book is well-researched with a number of top cancer researchers interviewed. The information is laid out in an easy-to-understand manner. If you have an interest in cancer research and looking for a comprehensive overview, then Rebel Cell is a book you want to read.

Buy Rebel Cell at Amazon

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Donna Huber is an avid reader and natural encourager. She is the founder of Girl Who Reads and the author of how-to marketing book Secrets to a Successful Blog Tour.

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