“Biography” of cancer wins award

The Emperor of All Maladies, a biography of cancer by oncologist Siddhartha Mukherjee, has won The Guardian First Book award and the £10,000 prize.  Mukherjee’s book beat four novels on the shortlist including Booker nominated Pigeon English.  Started as a small journal attempting to answer patients’ questions about their illness, the book grew to encompass the history of the disease from the first recorded mastectomy right through to modern treatments.  It sounds absolutely fascinating, and maybe one that I’ll take a look at in the New Year.