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Book Review of The Family That Couldn't Sleep: A Medical Mystery

The Family That Couldn't Sleep: A Medical Mystery
BaileysBooks avatar reviewed on + 491 more book reviews
Helpful Score: 3


This was a very interesting book detailing the developments of prion theory in relation to mysterious diseases like scrapie, mad cow, and fatal familial insomnia.

I thought that Max did a very good job weaving in and out of history to show the progression of the disease, the people and animals affected by it, and the scientists and researchers dedicated to solving its mysteries.

This book was well-researched and organized. However, for anyone who is squeemish about meat eating or meat consumption, I would probably offer a caution as the details of prion transmission are unappetizing to say the least.

In all I found this book to be well worth my time. It was factual without being boring, moved along at a steady pace, and managed to cover a very large scope of science and history in a very concise and straightforward way.