Siddhartha Mukherjee’s “The Emperor of all Maladies: A Biography of Cancer” is one of the most important books I have ever read. Winner of the Pulitzer Prize, it is an astonishing achievement that traces the history of cancer back over 2,000 years to the present (2009). It is beautifully written, easy to read and understand, informative, and it shines an illuminating light on the many scientists, researchers, doctors, nurses, philanthropists and patients that have all played such major roles in the fight against a disease with so many different faces and transformations… An adversary like none other.
It might be easy for people to want to shy away from a book about cancer, but Mr. Mukherjee’s approach is so uniquely humane, as many reviewers have noted, that the burden and heartache of this disease (maladies) are almost secondary to the information and history that is so brilliantly presented.
Joseph Sciuto was born and raised in New York City, where he spent his early years listening to his Italian-American grandmother’s vivid stories about how their family was responsible for building much of the impressive Manhattan skyline, including the Empire State Building. The rich flavor of her stories about their family’s heritage still works its way through his writing.
Sciuto holds degrees from both John Jay College of Criminal Justice and Stony Brook University and a certificate in film studies from New York University. After studying psychology, film, theater, literature, and English as an undergraduate, he relocated to Southern California to attend graduate school at Loyola Marymount University, where he studied writing and film.
Sciuto's next novel, SOFIA, is available on June 27, 2019, following the success of HOLLYWOOD RIPTIDE, TARGETED DEMOGRAPHICS and PER VERSE VENGEANCE.
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A Curious View 