The Forgetting: Alzheimer's: Portrait of an Epidemic
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List Price: $14.95
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Manufacturer: Anchor
Written By: David Shenk
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Binding: Paperback
Dewey Decimal Number: 616.831
EAN: 9780385498388
ISBN: 0385498381
Label: Anchor
Manufacturer: Anchor
Number Of Items: 1
Number Of Pages: 304
Publication Date: 2003-01-14
Publisher: Anchor
Release Date: 2003-01-14
Studio: Anchor
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Editorial Reviews for The Forgetting: Alzheimer's: Portrait of an Epidemic
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Afflicting nearly half of all persons over the age of 85, Alzheimer’s disease kills nearly 100,000 Americas a year as it insidiously robs them of their memory and wreaks havoc on the lives of their loved ones. It was once minimized and misunderstood as forgetfulness in the elderly, but Alzheimer’s is now at the forefront of many medical and scientific agendas, for as the world’s population ages, the disease will kill millions more and touch the lives of virtually everyone.
The Forgetting is a scrupulously researched, multilayered analysis of Alzheimer’s and its social, medical, and spiritual implications. David Shenk presents us with much more than a detailed explanation of its causes and effects and the search for a cure. He movingly captures the disease’s impact on its victims and their families, and he looks back through history, explaining how Alzheimer’s most likely afflicted such figures as Jonathan Swift, Ralph Waldo Emerson,and William de Kooning. The result is a searing, powerfully engaging account of Alzheimer’s disease, offering a grim but sympathetic and ultimately encouraging portrait.
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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: Alzheimer's: Portrait of an Epidemic
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Thanks for visiting theforgetting.com, which I hope can serve as a useful launching pad for anyone wanting to know more about Alzheimer's disease or ...
The Forgetting: A Portrait of Alzheimer's DVD & Book Softcover Save $5
Buy The Forgetting: A Portrait of Alzheimer's DVD & Book Softcover Save $5 at Shop PBS ... Thanks for registering for the shoppbs.com e-mail list. We'll send you timely updates of ...
The Forgetting - Alzheimer's Portrait of an Epidemic - $10.00 ...
Alzheimer's Association, NYC Chapter Online Store The Forgetting - Alzheimer's Portrait of an Epidemic - Soft Coverby David Shenk, Ph.D. 2001Soft coverWith equal mastery Shenk ...
Forgetting, David Shenk, Book - Barnes & Noble
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ABC News: David Shenk Answers Your Questions About Alzheimer's
David Shenk Answers Our Viewers' Questions About Alzheimer's Disease ... Answers From the Award-Winning Author of 'The Forgetting: Alzheimer's, Portrait of an Epidemic'
KET | The Forgetting
Based on David Shenk’s extraordinary best-selling book, The Forgetting—Alzheimer’s: Portrait of an Epidemic, the program weaves together the history and biology of the disease ...
chapters.indigo.ca: The Forgetting: Alzheimer's: Portrait of an ...
Afflicting nearly half of all persons over the age of 85, Alzheimer’s disease kills nearly 100,000 Americas a year as it insidiously robs them of their memory and wreaks ...
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THE FORGETTING Alzheimer’s: Portrait of an Epidemic by David Shenk (Doubleday, 2001; Anchor, 2003) •
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Consumer Spending. Californians Worried About Gift Cards - KPBS ... Watch an Interview with David Shenk. Award-winning author of The Forgetting, Alzheimer's: Portrait of An Epidemic
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