Overview

Winner of the 2002 BMA Popular Medicine Book Prize: This is a haunting literary and scientific examination of Alzheimer’s disease and the race to find a cure. ‘A truly remarkable book – the definitive work on Alzheimer’s, both in social and medical terms, “The Forgetting” is incisive, humane, never ponderous, full of dry humour and brilliantly written with quiet, unpretentious authority. As a layman with personal experience of “caring” for an Alzheimer’s sufferer I am well aware of the stages of the disease and its prognosis and ending. Shenk is excellent on all these, and in his reflections on memory and the individual, and the individual’s response to the progress of the disease. I can’t imagine a book on Alzheimer’s being better researched and understood, or presented with greater sympathy.’ John Bayley In 1906 Alois Alzheimer dissected and examined the cerebral cortex of Auguste D’s brain and became the first scientist in medical history to link a specific brain pathology to behavioural changes. The disease named after him, turns otherwise active and healthy people into living ghosts. It is a rare condition for those in their 40s and 50s but 10% of the 65+ population suffers from it and 50% of the 85+. It is longevity’s revenge and as the baby boom generation drifts into its elderly years the number of Alzheimer’s victims is expected to quadruple, making it the fastest-growing disease in developed countries. As Adam Phillips writes in his foreword ‘This remarkable book will radically change our notions of looking after people and our assumptions about independence. Out of fear of mortality we have idealised health and youth and competence. “The Forgetting” reminds us among many other things that there is more to life than that.’ Shenk’s history of Alzheimer’s is both poignant and scientific, grounded by the fundamental belief that memory forms the basis of our selves, our souls, and the meaning in our lives.

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9780006532088

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Reviews

'The Forgetting is completely absorbing, fascinating, the best of writing, thought-provoking, socially important and imperative to read, with the narrative pull of a well-written murder mystery.' Amy Tan 'It's not only great science writing -- it takes a terrifying disease that will affect us all, directly or indirectly, as we grow older, and gives it a meaning and a human face.' Mark Haddon, Books of the Year, Guardian 'Lucid and often moving!Shenk is a wonderful writer on science. His prose zings along.' Independent 'A startling book, a mixture of history, science, politics and compelling case studies' Daily Telegraph 'A beautifully rendered portrait of a terrible illness, David Shenk's book is immensely absorbing and informative, yet also quite touching.' Todd Feinberg, Yarmon Alzheimer's Disease Centre 'A poignant portrayal of a dark illness that robs our very soul. Yet Shenk provides a vivid glimpse of the future, how new science may ultimately remedy this devastating malady.' Jerome Groopman, Harvard Medical School

Winner of the BMA Popular Medicine Book of the Year Award, this historical and scientific study of Alzheimer's is a fascinating analysis of the crippling disease that currently afflicts one in 20 over the age of 65. Shenk looks at both the social implications of the disease and the scientific theories regarding its cause and possible treatments. He crosses conventional boundaries by incorporating the personal, the famous (Ronald Reagan is probably the most well-known sufferer) and the artistic. There are references to Emerson, who famously suffered, but also literary figures such as King Lear and characters in Shaw, Chaucer, Chekhov and Poe. The writing is complex but accessible and the facts are liberally sprinkled and surprise as they inform: Alzheimer's unravels the brain almost exactly in the reverse order that it develops at childhood; it begins in the hippocampus area of the brain; it was not until the late 1970s that the public began to learn about it; and aluminium saucepans are not to blame. The structure of the book is clear and inventive. Set around a scientific conference that took place in New Mexico in March 1999, each chapter begins with personal quotes from Alzheimer's sufferers. Shenk argues: 'whilst medical science gives us many tools for staying alive, it cannot help us with the art of living'. But this is not a downbeat look at this debilitating disease. Scientific advances are encouraging and Shenk even argues that there is a consolation prize for sufferers - there is a freshness to living with things that seem ever new. This extraordinary book is as much about the machinations and ruminations of the scientific community as it is about the disease itself. The characters come through loud and clear. But it is Shenk's unerring humanity that strikes the reader most and makes this account universally accessible. (Kirkus UK)

Author Information

David Shenk is an award-winning, national-bestselling author of five books, and a contributor to National Geographic, Slate, the New York Times, Gourmet, Harper’s, American Scholar, NPR and PBS. He has written about pandemics, music, technology, chess, politics, bioethics, the brain, corporate malfeasance and kids' toys. He frequently lectures on health, education and technology, and is currently writing a blog-and-book about the source of talent and ‘giftedness’. David Shenk‘s books include Data Smog and a book of essays entitled The End of Patience. He has written for many American newspapers and journals. Shenk was a 1995-1996 Freedom Forum Fellow and a 1998 US-Japan Fellow. He lives in Brooklyn.

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