Book Review: Survival of the Sickest by Dr. Sharon Moalem

Finished reading it on the airplane!         

        I have to say, I wouldn’t consider this book to be “my type” or my go-to read on most occasions. For starters, it isn’t a fictional book. It’s not a novel, and it most certainly does not have a main character falling in love as the reader goes through her progression into adulthood, like many of my favorite romance genre books. This book is about biology, the science behind life on this planet, plain and simple. Except Moalem makes takes this informative book way out of the biology textbook spectrum. He goes beyond what we would normally classify as a “simple cold,” for example, and describes theories explaining why some diseases require more from their hosts than others, such as malaria, in only the most intriguing and exciting way. 

        I was introduced to this book by my AP Biology teacher, Mrs. Garza. With the original intent of having her students read only the first few chapters for content on some quizzes, Mrs. Garza accomplished one of the biggest goals, I think, of a teacher: she encouraging me, as well as some of her other students, to complete reading the book on their own, indicating a passion for learning. And boy am I glad I did. 

        Moelem has a very important point made in the book: humans, particularly those with a thirst for curiosity, tend to ask a lot of whys. Within eight chapters, Moalem explores the interesting questions of why many European descendants inherit the surplus of iron in the body (called hemochromatosis), the genetic traces of Type 1 diabetes, the tendency and reasoning behind the ways diseases manipulate their hosts, the almost magical power of epigenetics, and more, all while connecting it to any species’ goal on Earth: to survive. Hence the name, Survival of the Sickest. Because many diseases prevalent today exist due to their solution to our ancestor’s need for survival. Moalem does an amazing job providing cutting-edge research from the scientific community (and I guess it does help that he happens to hold a doctorate in human physiology, neurogenetics, and evolutionary medicine) all in a book with a span of 200 pages or so. However, the most exciting thing about this book was the fact that I, who am neither scientist nor professional in the field of medicine, was pulled in. While science may not be comprehensible or of much interest to everyone, Moalem is effective in making this a good read for anyone. He makes it relatable, and worth your time to read.