An Elegant Defense: The Extraordinary New Science of the Immune System: A Tale in Four Lives

· HarperAudio · Narrated by Fred Sanders
4.7
9 reviews
Audiobook
12 hr 33 min
Unabridged
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About this audiobook

A magnificently reported and soulfully crafted exploration of the human immune system–the key to health and wellness, life and death. An epic, first-of-its-kind book, entwining leading-edge scientific discovery with the intimate stories of four individual lives, by the Pulitzer Prize–winning New York Times journalist.

“An Elegant Defense by Matt Richtel is one of those rare nonfiction books that transcends the genre. On one level it is a fascinating and engrossing account of the latest, and quite astonishing, discoveries involving the human immune system and how it works. But it is also a story about people facing mortality, about the passion of scientists searching for truth, and a meditation on death and how all of us struggle with the ultimate mystery. Heartfelt and moving, full of compassion, love, and the human drama, this is the work of a writer of high ethical character who is grappling with big issues and deep humanistic problems. What an inspiring and wonderful read. I highly recommend this extraordinary book.” —DOUGLAS PRESTON, #1 bestselling author of The Lost City of the Monkey God

Ratings and reviews

4.7
9 reviews
Vijay Ivaturi
June 25, 2019
Brilliant read! This narrative of the interplay between our immune system and "us" was gripping and educational. This could easily have been a teaching aid in a classroom, but much more interesting than any standard aid. The narrative includes real life stories mixed with deep scientific links that makes you keep listening. Matt very easily develops our understanding of the links between our day to day health and well being to our immune system. The impact of sleep, stress, food eating habits and exercise and their link to the "festival of life", as Matt describes become very clear! You learn how important it is to realize what is "self" and what is "alien". I don't think I have read/heard such a book. Before this, I had heard the "BreakThrough" by Charles Graeber and loved the narrative there, but this one is even better. Thank you, Matt for educating your audience via such a gripping narrative. Highly recommended read for folks with any background!
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David Reeder
April 26, 2019
great read
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Anil Das
October 31, 2021
AÀA BOSS NETWORK
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About the author

Matt Richtel is a reporter at the New York Times. He received the Pulitzer Prize for national reporting for a series of articles about distracted driving that he expanded into his first nonfiction book, A Deadly Wandering, a New York Times bestseller. His second nonfiction book, An Elegant Defense, on the human immune system, was a national bestseller and chosen by Bill Gates for his annual Summer Reading List. Richtel has appeared on NPR’s Fresh Air, CBS This Morning, PBS NewsHour, and other major media outlets. He lives in San Francisco, California.

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Narrated by Fred Sanders