"pedagogic pedophiliac pediatrician" who cracked kuru and won the Nobel Prize, and another Nobel winner, Stanley Prusiner, a driven, feared self-promoter who identified the key protein that revolutionized prion study. With remarkable precision, grace, and sympathy, Max-who himself suffers from an inherited neurological illness-explores maladies that have tormented humanity for centuries and gives reason to hope that someday cures will be found. And he eloquently demonstrates that in our relationship to nature and these ailments, we have been our own worst enemy. Advance praise "The Family that Couldn't Sleep is a riveting detective story that plumbs one of the deepest mysteries of biology. The story takes the reader from the torments of an Italian family cursed with sleeplessness to the mad cows of England (and, now, America), following an unlikely trail of misfolded proteins. D. T. Max unfolds his absorbing narrative with rare grace and makes the science sing." -Michael Pollan, author of The Omnivore's Dilemma and The Botany of Desire "Much has been written about prions and Mad Cow Disease-nearly all of it is worthless. Thankfully, from the world of journalism comes D.T. Max to set things right. Throw all those other "Mad Cow" books in the trash: This is the book to read about prions-or whatever you want to call them. It's a riveting tale, told by someone with a very special understanding, derived in part from his own strange ailment. Find a cozy spot, clear your schedule and dive in."
- Laurie Garrett, author of Betrayal of Trust and The Coming Plague
"D. T. Max deftly unfolds the mysterious prion in all its villainous guises. Although scientists do not fully understand these proteins-how they replicate and wreak such havoc in their victims' brains-The Family That Couldn't Sleep reveals their historical, cultural, and scientific place in our world. Prepare to be enlightened, entertained, and frightened."
-Katrina Firlik, MD, author of Another Day in the Frontal Lobe "A great book. D.T. Max has drawn the curtain on a cabinet of folly and malady that will stagger your imagination."
- Philip Weiss, author of American Taboo
"D.T. Max has combined the enthralling medical anthropology of Oliver Sacks with the gothic horror of Stephen King to produce a medical detective story that is as intelligent as it is spooky. The villain of The Family That Couldn't Sleep is the prion, a tiny little protein that causes some of the most terrifying, brain-mangling, creepy diseases known to man. Always fascinating-how could it not be, given that its characters include cannibals, mad cows, madder sheep, a Nobel prize-winning pedophile, and, most poignantly, an Italian family cursed by fatal insomnia?-Max's book is also a gripping account of scientific discovery, and a heartfelt meditation on what it means to be cursed with an incurable, and brutal, illness." - David Plotz, author of The Genius Factory
"pedagogic pedophiliac pediatrician" who cracked kuru and won the Nobel Prize, and another Nobel winner, Stanley Prusiner, a driven, feared self-promoter who identified the key protein that revolutionized prion study. With remarkable precision, grace, and sympathy, Max-who himself suffers from an inherited neurological illness-explores maladies that have tormented humanity for centuries and gives reason to hope that someday cures will be found. And he eloquently demonstrates that in our relationship to nature and these ailments, we have been our own worst enemy. Advance praise "The Family that Couldn't Sleep is a riveting detective story that plumbs one of the deepest mysteries of biology. The story takes the reader from the torments of an Italian family cursed with sleeplessness to the mad cows of England (and, now, America), following an unlikely trail of misfolded proteins. D. T. Max unfolds his absorbing narrative with rare grace and makes the science sing." -Michael Pollan, author of The Omnivore's Dilemma and The Botany of Desire "Much has been written about prions and Mad Cow Disease-nearly all of it is worthless. Thankfully, from the world of journalism comes D.T. Max to set things right. Throw all those other "Mad Cow" books in the trash: This is the book to read about prions-or whatever you want to call them. It's a riveting tale, told by someone with a very special understanding, derived in part from his own strange ailment. Find a cozy spot, clear your schedule and dive in."
- Laurie Garrett, author of Betrayal of Trust and The Coming Plague
"D. T. Max deftly unfolds the mysterious prion in all its villainous guises. Although scientists do not fully understand these proteins-how they replicate and wreak such havoc in their victims' brains-The Family That Couldn't Sleep reveals their historical, cultural, and scientific place in our world. Prepare to be enlightened, entertained, and frightened."
-Katrina Firlik, MD, author of Another Day in the Frontal Lobe "A great book. D.T. Max has drawn the curtain on a cabinet of folly and malady that will stagger your imagination."
- Philip Weiss, author of American Taboo
"D.T. Max has combined the enthralling medical anthropology of Oliver Sacks with the gothic horror of Stephen King to produce a medical detective story that is as intelligent as it is spooky. The villain of The Family That Couldn't Sleep is the prion, a tiny little protein that causes some of the most terrifying, brain-mangling, creepy diseases known to man. Always fascinating-how could it not be, given that its characters include cannibals, mad cows, madder sheep, a Nobel prize-winning pedophile, and, most poignantly, an Italian family cursed by fatal insomnia?-Max's book is also a gripping account of scientific discovery, and a heartfelt meditation on what it means to be cursed with an incurable, and brutal, illness." - David Plotz, author of The Genius Factory
Paperback
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