Mukherjee’s ‘The Song of the Cell’ Baillie Gifford Longlist
Written by Susi, Arushi Sharma
Mukherjee's 'The Song of the Cell' has garnered well-deserved recognition, securing a place on the prestigious Baillie Gifford Longlist. This exceptional work of literature delves into the intricate world of cellular biology.
"The Song of the Cell: An Exploration of Medicine and the New Human," by Dr. Siddhartha Mukherjee, has been named to the 13-book longlist for the prestigious £50,000 Baillie Gifford Prize for Non-Fiction in London.
This book examines how cellular research has transformed medicine, enabling the treatment of major diseases such as Alzheimer's and AIDS. Dr. Mukherjee's "most spectacular book yet," according to the judging panel.”
“The cell is the foundational unit of life. Its discovery reshaped our understanding of our bodies and brains as never before. This revolutionised medical practice in the past and, centuries on, holds ever-greater clinical promise for the future, the judges said.
“Mukherjee provides the definitive account of this remarkable cellular story, authoritative yet at the same time personal. He has that rarest of scientific gifts — the ability to pull back the magical curtain of complexities to reveal, like cells themselves, the foundations of life.”
Siddhartha Mukherjee, an Associate Professor of medicine at Columbia University, is known for his bestsellers ‘The Gene: An Intimate History’ (NY Times #1) and ‘The Emperor of All Maladies: A Biography of Cancer’ (2011 Pulitzer Prize winner).
He holds degrees from Stanford, Oxford, and Harvard Medical School and has contributed to prestigious journals like Nature, NEJM, and more. He was selected for an award from 265 books published between Nov 1, 2022, and Oct 31, 2023, by a panel chaired by Frederick Studemann, with judges including Andrea Wulf, Arifa Akbar, Ruth Scurr, Tanjil Rashid, and Andrew Haldane.
According to chair of judges Frederick Studemann, "the books on the longlist share an ability to communicate lucidly and engage with readers in an intelligent and relevant way."
Six award finalists will be announced live on October 8 at the Cheltenham Literature Festival, with the winner announced at the Science Museum in London.
The prize, which was established in 1999, recognizes English nonfiction in current affairs, history, politics, science, sport, travel, biography, autobiography, and the arts.
"Super-Infinite: The Transformations of John Donne" by Katherine Rundell was the previous year's winner.