The Forgetting
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List Price: $18.60
Our Price: $125.00
Availability: N/A
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Manufacturer: HarperCollins Publishers Ltd
Written By: David Shenk
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Binding: Paperback
Dewey Decimal Number: 610
EAN: 9780006532088
ISBN: 000653208X
Label: HarperCollins Publishers Ltd
Manufacturer: HarperCollins Publishers Ltd
Number Of Pages: 400
Publication Date: 2003-01-06
Publisher: HarperCollins Publishers Ltd
Studio: HarperCollins Publishers Ltd
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Editorial Reviews for The Forgetting
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An urgent and moving exploration of the Alzheimer’s epidemic, The Forgetting is a dazzling meditation on the nature of memory and self and on the disease that robs people of both.
Alzheimer’s disease is a demographic time bomb. Since 1975, the number of Americans afflicted has risen from five hundred thousand to five million; over the next fifty years, an estimated eighty to one hundred million more people worldwide will succumb to it. But it is the story behind these numbers that makes The Forgetting such a landmark work. A magnificent synthesis of history, science, politics, psychology ,and profound human drama, the book explores the nature of a disease that attacks not merely memory but the very core of our human identity.
Delving into such diverse areas as art history, literature, genetics, and neurobiology, David Shenk shows that Alzheimer’s particular terror, the gradual eradication of memory and of mind is as old as humankind itself. He convincingly posits that such historical figures as Ralph Waldo Emerson, Jonathan Swift and Frederick Law Olmstead were caught in the disease’s insidious grip. Moving portraits of contemporary patients, their families, and their caregivers drive home the sad pattern of regression Alzheimer’s exacts, a pathology that eerily mirrors child development in reverse. Yet Shenk offers a well of empathy and understanding for families striving to better understand and come to terms with their loss.
With equal mastery Shenk charts the complicated race to find a cure. As scientists pursue a treatment worth billions of dollars, the brutal competition among them poses a serious threat to the traditional ethic of sharing vital research. But there are heartening signs of progress, and for the first time there is excitement among scientists that a cure may indeed be possible.
Shenk eloquently calls Alzheimer’s “death by a thousand subtractions.” The Forgetting is at once a powerful examination of what this means and a forthright discussion of the impact this epidemic will have on the life of every reader.
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Consumer reviews:
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Customer Rating: 
Summary: Expanding the understanding of Alzheimer Disease
Comment: THE FORGETTING is an exceptional book on the subject of Alzheimer's. One follows the historical biography of this disease through lucid and engaging writing, with much anecdotal evidence of its' effects upon prominent persons, like Ralph Waldo Emerson and Willem de Kooning. The author offers ways of understanding the disease that include perceptions of some actual sufferers who, themselves, offer their insights. Having read several books on this topic, this is the one I pass along to others as a valuable book to expand one's understanding about Alzheimer's, while being eminently readable.
Customer Rating: 
Summary: Alzheimer's:Portrait of an Epidemic
Comment: I purchased this book after seeing it described as "remarkable" by Oliver Sacks, in his own book "Musicophilia". I gave the book to a friend, whose husband is sadly, suffering the early signs of probable Alzheimer's disease, but as a retired surgeon, with only a rudimentary knowledge of the medical aspects of the condition myself, I was also interested to read it first. For some reason, I found the introductory passages of the book a little dense, but thereafter, it was thoroughly engaging and enlightening. In particular, the book struck a nice balance between explaining the known microscopic biological details of the illness, and practical aspects that might help a relative or care-giver come to terms with the condition on a daily basis. Examples of the experience and behaviour of well-known historic figures who probably had Alzheimer's helped to emphasise the unselective nature of the illness, and the potentially depressing aspects of the course of the disease were treated with great sensitivity. Overall, I thought it was excellent. My friend (who is non-medical), has found it to be very informative and in many ways reassuring, in her attempt to understand what is happening to her husband.
Customer Rating:
Summary: The title haunts to tell of the forgetting disease
Comment: You don't have to be a science nut to be enthralled by David Shenk's book, The Forgetting--Alzheimer's: Portrait of an Epidemic. From the first official case of Alzheimer's (Auguste D., a fifty-one-year-old German woman first treated by neuropathologist Alois Alzheimer in 1901), to the use of transgenics to study the disease in mice, Shenk covers everything you need to know about the harrowing disease that, by 2050, will affect 15,000,000 Americans. Except, that is--a surefire way to prevent it.
After 100 years, scientists still do not know exactly why humans get Alzheimer's, but they have learned a lot along the way. Shenk explains even the most intricate details of the disease clearly and carefully, making use of helpful analogies and explaining how memory works on a biological level. He chronicles the decline of several public figures, each of which was either diagnosed with the disease or likely had it before Alzheimer's twentieth-century discovery, including some of the greatest minds of the Western world: Ralph Waldo Emerson, Jonathan Swift, Jorge Luis Borges, Willem de Kooning.
Shenk is careful to keep a human element running through the book, reminding readers that science is not a cold, black-and-white world, but a flexible, complex world on which our daily lives depend. Each chapter begins with an anecdote from a family caregiver (spouse, child, etc.), and Shenk follows the progress (or rather, deterioration) of a support group for patients in the early stages. He also writes of a listserve, where caregivers from across the nation ask questions, give advice, share experiences, vent frustration, and celebrate those rare lucid moments.
Alzheimer's risks increase drastically with age, and, as Baby Boomers near retirement, it becomes crucial for average Americans to understand all they can about a disease that will prove both emotionally and financially devastating even for those who do not receive a diagnosis. Shenk gives us hope, however, with discussions of scientific advances and a chapter devoted to how each of us can improve our odds and perhaps escape the ultimate forgetting.
Armchair Interviews says: Well worth reading for the future--our parents or our own.
Customer Rating:
Summary: This book is tops!
Comment: I have read a lot about Alzheimer's but this is definitely one of the best. It is easy to read with good illustrations of Alzheimer's onset in persons such as Ronald Reagan. Shenk's comparison of a baby's growth with Alzheimer's decline illustrates the heartbreak for those caring for someone with this disease. I highly recommend this book to professionals as well as laypeople.
Customer Rating:
Summary: I love this book.
Comment: The Forgetting is a great book. I love the way it "introduces" you to Alzheimer's. Not so much scientific as human. This terrible disease process that is stalking us as we all age is often misunderstood and not truly appreciated for all its horribleness until it strikes within your own family. I found this book strangely comforting and ultimately left me in a better place than when I started reading it. I highly recommend this book. As an elder law attorney who specializes in helping family's with issues related to this disease process I include this book on my must read list I give to clients. I also highly recommend the DVD that was inspired by this book The Forgetting - A Portrait of Alzheimer's.
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More Information on The Forgetting
The Forgetting | PBS
The Forgetting: A Portrait of Alzheimer's is a Primetime Emmy award-winning documentary that takes a dramatic, compassionate, all-encompassing look at the growing epidemic of ...
The Forgetting . About the Forgetting . The Documentary | PBS
The Forgetting: A Portrait of Alzheimer's is a Primetime Emmy award-winning documentary that takes a dramatic, compassionate, all-encompassing look at the growing epidemic of ...
tpt's The Forgetting: Outreach
The Forgetting: A Portrait of Alzheimer's ... Airing Sunday, August 3, 2008 at 9:00 pm ET on most PBS stations (check local listings)
SS Forgetting Curve
THE FORGETTING CURVE. Amount you are likely to recall if you do review. Amount you are likely to recall ...
Forgetting curve - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
The forgetting curve illustrates the decline of memory retention in time. A related concept is the strength of memory that refers to the durability that memory traces in the brain.
KET | The Forgetting
information about The Forgetting, a national documentary on Alzheimer's disease; streaming video of KET's follow-up program, Alzheimer's in Kentucky; and a downloadable viewer's ...
theforgetting.com | home
The Forgetting David Shenk Trade Paperback $13.95 ISBN 978-0-385-49838-8 ... Thanks for visiting theforgetting.com, which I hope can serve ...
theforgetting.com | read the first chapter
The Forgetting David Shenk Trade Paperback $13.95 ISBN 978-0-385-49838-8 ... Prologue "When I was younger," Mark Twain quipped near the end of his life ...
The Forgetting - Soft Back Cover (List of Products) -- Alzheimer's ...
The Forgetting - Soft Back Cover -- Alzheimer's Store Shopping Cart $13.95. The Forgetting: Caregivers tell us that this is the best and most easily understood book describing ...
The Forgetting-DVD (Audio & Video Tapes/CD's) -- Alzheimer's Store ...
The Forgetting-DVD -- Alzheimer's Store Shopping Cart $22.95. The video describes individual family situations, the science of the disease and the current race to find a cure.
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