Survival of the Sickest: The Surprising Connections Between Disease and Longevity

Joining the ranks of modern myth busters, Dr. Sharon Moalem turns our current understanding of illness on its head and challenges us to fundamentally change the way we think about our bodies, our health, and our relationship to just about every other living thing on earth, from plants and animals to insects and bacteria.

So why does disease exist? Moalem proposes that most common ailments—diabetes, hemochromatosis, cystic fibrosis, sickle cell anemia—came into existence for very good reasons. At some point they helped our ancestors survive some grand challenge to their existence. Examining human evolution, Moalem reveals the role genetic and cultural differences have played in the health and well-being of various races, including their susceptibility to inherited diseases.

With mesmerizing insight and a fresh perspective on medical history, Moalem offers groundbreaking insight into :

• How diabetes may be a biproduct of a mechanism that helped humans survive the Ice Age

• Why African Americans living in the north might suffer from vitamin D deficiencies,

• Why Asians can’t drink as much alcohol as Europeans

Revelatory, utterly engaging, and timely—Moalem ponders strongN1, the emerging Avian Flu virus—Why Redheads Feel More Pain and Asians Can’t Drink will irrevocably change the way we think about our bodies and ourselves.

Joining the ranks of modern myth busters, Dr. Sharon Moalem turns our current understanding of illness on its head and challenges us to fundamentally change the way we think about our bodies, our health, and our relationship to just about every other living thing on earth. Through a fresh and engaging examination of our evolutionary history, Dr. Moalem reveals how many of the conditions that are diseases today actually gave our ancestors a leg up in the survival sweepstakes. But Survival of the Sickest doesn't stop there. It goes on to demonstrate just how little modern medicine really understands about human health, and offers a new way of thinking that can help all of us live longer, healthier lives.

“fascinating, enlightening and reader-friendly...This is one not-to-be-missed fantastic journey across the evolutionary landscape of humankind. - Rocky Mountain News

MED History does not always receive a great deal of attention...this book shows exactly why it shouldn’t be ignored. - Library Journal

“CSI meets Freakonomics meets Bill Nye the Science Guy.” - Edmonton Journal (Alberta)

“[a] fascinating new book...[Moalem] has a way of turning complicated biology into captivating stories.” - Body + Soul

“[It] will challenge everything you thought you knew about disease. Fascinating!” - Memet Oz, co-author of YOU: The Owners Manuel

“A lively and enthusiastic treatise” - Kirkus Reviews