An Elegant Defense

书名：An Elegant DefenseTheExtraordinaryNewScienceoftheImmuneSystem:ATaleinFourLives
作者：MattRichtel
译者：
ISBN：9780062699107
出版社：WilliamMorrow;1edition
出版时间：2019-3-12
格式：epub/mobi/azw3/pdf
页数：448
豆瓣评分： 8.4

书籍简介：

NATIONAL BESTSELLER A grand tour of the human immune system and the secrets of health, by the Pulitzer Prize–winning New York Times journalist “One of those rare nonfiction books that transcends the genre. … Extraordinary.” —Douglas Preston A terminal cancer patient rises from the grave. A medical marvel defies HIV. Two women with autoimmunity discover their own bodies have turned against them. Matt Richtel's An Elegant Defense uniquely entwines these intimate stories with science’s centuries-long quest to unlock the mysteries of sickness and health, and illuminates the immune system as never before. The immune system is our body’s essential defense network, a guardian vigilantly fighting illness, healing wounds, maintaining order and balance, and keeping us alive. Its legion of microscopic foot soldiers—from T cells to “natural killers”—patrols our body, linked by a nearly instantaneous communications grid. It has been honed by evolution over millennia to face an almost infinite array of threats. For all its astonishing complexity, however, the immune system can be easily compromised by fatigue, stress, toxins, advanced age, and poor nutrition—hallmarks of modern life—and even by excessive hygiene. Paradoxically, it is a fragile wonder weapon that can turn on our own bodies with startling results, leading today to epidemic levels of autoimmune disorders. Richtel effortlessly guides readers on a scientific detective tale winding from the Black Plague to twentieth-century breakthroughs in vaccination and antibiotics, to the cutting-edge laboratories that are revolutionizing immunology—perhaps the most extraordinary and consequential medical story of our time. The foundation that Richtel builds makes accessible revelations about cancer immunotherapy, the microbiome, and autoimmune treatments that are changing millions of lives. An Elegant Defense also captures in vivid detail how these powerful therapies, along with our behavior and environment, interact with the immune system, often for the good but always on a razor’s edge that can throw this remarkable system out of balance. Drawing on his groundbreaking reporting for the New York Times and based on extensive new interviews with dozens of world-renowned scientists, Matt Richtel has produced a landmark book, equally an investigation into the deepest riddles of survival and a profoundly human tale that is movingly brought to life through the eyes of his four main characters, each of whom illuminates an essential facet of our “elegant defense.”

作者简介：

Matt Richtel is a Pulitzer Prize-winning New York Times journalist and bestselling writer of mysteries and thrillers. His books are fast-paced, character-centered stories in which things are not always as they seem. The backdrop for the books is the modern world. Technology is everywhere. Everything moves at lightning speed, from conspiracy, to love, business, and violence. Technology is our slave. Or has it become our dark master?

The books relate to Matt's journalism. He won the Pulitzer Prize in 2010 for a series of stories on distracted driving. The next year, he wrote an acclaimed series for the New York Times called "Your Brain On Computers" exploring how heavy technology use impacts our behavior and our brains.

Matt lives with his family in San Francisco. He writes from an office with a window that looks onto the former house of baseball legend Willie Mays. He — Matt, not Willie — is an avid tennis player, takes pride in making guacamole and coffee, and writes the occasional song.

书友短评：

@ wangleineo 这本书对我的知识盲点可谓精准狙击，受教了。免疫系统原来如此复杂，下次再看到什么“增强免疫力/boost your immune system”的广告可以直接呵呵了。要知道，我们的免疫系统讲究一个和谐，万一免疫过高是会得自体免疫病的（顺便justify了从小不听劝我本人的至理名言“不干不净吃了没病”总能听到类似“抵抗外界细菌”的话，好像能伤害到人体自身的只有外界侵害，然而就连癌症的产生也与免疫系统有关，而作者那位身患癌症的朋友Jason就是个极好的例子——癌症没能让他放弃求生意识，而癌细胞消失后的免疫失调才是压死骆驼的最后一根稻草。其实到头来一切还是归结于自身的免疫系统，我们能做的并不多…好的总之我会继续坚持多睡觉多运动以及健康饮食的！ @ amino As the one highly susceptible to allergies, it’s the first time that I learned how my immune system works. The most important thing for me is that my vulnerability might be caused by an overheating immune system instead of a weak one. Besides, sleep, exercise, meditation and nutrition (NESM) are the key points to keep my immune system on track. @ meijie 多好的一本书，居然读了一年多，惭愧。 @ Kate 读到最后泪目了，看到Jason在与癌症作斗争，同时也在与为了消灭癌症而采取的对身体并没有好处的痛苦的治疗过程做斗争。太难了。了解了免疫系统一些基础知识，记住了4个对免疫系统有影响的要素：stress, sleep, gut and hygiene. @ 天蓝 Fancy story of immune system and life. @ 钚Janus Biggest takeaway – There's no way to boost your immunity but to balance it.

Part I Lives in the Balance
Part II The Immune System and the Festival of Life
Part III Bob
Part IV Linda and Meredith
Part V Jason
Part VI Homecoming
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