The prose in An Elegant Defense is vibrant, conversational, direct and often funny. Richtel, who covers science and technology for the New York Times, once joked that the paper’s writing will always remain “dry and lifeless.” But that’s not Richtel’s style.
And the lives of Linda Segre and Merredith Branscombe have been radically altered by their overactive immune systems. Bob Hoff contracted HIV in 1977, but his immune system managed to keep the virus in check.
Richtel’s childhood friend Jason Greenstein is battling a stubborn form of Hodgkin’s disease that seems to be invisible to his immune response. Richtel explains all of this science through the stories of four individuals deeply affected by their immune systems. And that balance is central to our health.Īn Elegant Defense offers a sweeping overview of immunology’s history, from Élie Metchnikoff’s observations in the 1800s of immune cells swarming splinters in starfish larvae to recent discoveries underpinning cancer immunotherapy. “It is a system precisely and delicately tailored to stay in balance, keep the peace and do as little damage as possible to us and our surroundings,” he writes.
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