The Family That Couldn't Sleep: A Medical Mystery

from jen.e.moore

An excellent history of prion diseases, framed by the story of an Italian family with a genetic prion disease, fatal familial insomnia, that kills by exhaustion. I'm equal parts fascinated by this disease's potential to illuminate the way sleep works, and horrified by the very thought of prion di...

from Rob.Larson

I picked up this book because I have insomnia. It is very eye opening (no pun intended), with tons of facts about the meat industry, which make you want to go vegetarian! I was also surprised to learn about how animals have been bred for hunting purposes (deer, elk). What a mess people have creat...

from steadfastreader

Excellent overview of the history and current science regarding prion diseases such as Mad Cow, Kuru, and Fatal Familial Insomnia. Easy enough for the layman, yet comprehensive. Definitely fun.

from daisyq

I found this to be a fascinating read about the discovery of prion diseases. It highlighted some interesting people who were central to research in this area. I found the sections about the discovery and cover up of BSE/mad cow in the UK particularly interesting.This was interspersed with the sad...

from dandelionroots

Intensely interesting. Follows the history of infectious and inherited prion diseases through their outbreaks in animals and their appearance in humans using the story of the Venetian family with fatal familial insomnia as a backdrop. Nature is terrifying, especially when humans inadvertently amp...