Breaking Through
My Life In Science
Published on 25. January 2024
Book
Hardback
336 pages
978-1-84792-825-2 (ISBN)
Description
From butcher's daughter in Communist Hungary to winner of the Nobel Prize in Medicine 2023, this is the story of one woman's extraordinary determination through decades of obscurity and rejection - and her breakthrough discovery that saved millions of lives.
'Riveting. A true story of a brilliant biochemist who never gave up or gave in' BONNIE GARMUS, author of Lessons in Chemistry
'Anyone who has ever doubted that science, innovation and persistence can change the world should read this book' BILL GATES
Katalin Kariko began life as a butcher's daughter in post-war Communist Hungary: a hand-to-mouth existence in a single-room house of clay and straw with no running water. Breaking Through is her extraordinary memoir of how she achieved her dream of becoming a scientist, first in Hungary and then in the USA, and pursued her belief - despite so many telling her not to - that an elusive molecule could transform our ability to prevent disease.
For three decades she worked in obscurity, battling cockroaches in a windowless lab, enduring demotion, the derision of her colleagues, even threats of deportation. But in 2020, Kariko's vision was spectacularly vindicated when her work made possible the mRNA vaccines that brought an end to the pandemic, paving the way for similar vaccines against cancer, HIV, malaria and other life-threatening diseases.
As frank, wise and fearless as Kariko herself, Breaking Through is a remarkable story of tenacity, friendship and loyalty, and one woman's unshakeable commitment to her values.
'Few have overcome adversity like Katalin Kariko . . . This remarkable memoir . . . is a joy to read' Financial Times
*An Amazon Best Book of the Year* *One of Nature's five best science books for 2024* *An FT Best Summer Book of 2024*
'Riveting. A true story of a brilliant biochemist who never gave up or gave in' BONNIE GARMUS, author of Lessons in Chemistry
'Anyone who has ever doubted that science, innovation and persistence can change the world should read this book' BILL GATES
Katalin Kariko began life as a butcher's daughter in post-war Communist Hungary: a hand-to-mouth existence in a single-room house of clay and straw with no running water. Breaking Through is her extraordinary memoir of how she achieved her dream of becoming a scientist, first in Hungary and then in the USA, and pursued her belief - despite so many telling her not to - that an elusive molecule could transform our ability to prevent disease.
For three decades she worked in obscurity, battling cockroaches in a windowless lab, enduring demotion, the derision of her colleagues, even threats of deportation. But in 2020, Kariko's vision was spectacularly vindicated when her work made possible the mRNA vaccines that brought an end to the pandemic, paving the way for similar vaccines against cancer, HIV, malaria and other life-threatening diseases.
As frank, wise and fearless as Kariko herself, Breaking Through is a remarkable story of tenacity, friendship and loyalty, and one woman's unshakeable commitment to her values.
'Few have overcome adversity like Katalin Kariko . . . This remarkable memoir . . . is a joy to read' Financial Times
*An Amazon Best Book of the Year* *One of Nature's five best science books for 2024* *An FT Best Summer Book of 2024*
Reviews / Votes
Few have overcome adversity like Kariko ... This remarkable memoir ... is a joy to read * Financial Times * [The] engrossing, touching tale ... of a scientist now recognised as one of the world's greatest ... a vividly written, absorbing memoir * GUARDIAN * It is almost impossible not to feel moved by this story of an extraordinarily resilient woman * TIMES LITERARY SUPPLEMENT * Riveting. A true story of a brilliant biochemist who never gave up or gave in. -- BONNIE GARMUS Kariko's story is an inspiration -- BILL GATES Will make you laugh, think and maybe even readjust the way you see the world -- KATJA HOYER A classic in the genre of underdogs succeeding against the odds * New Scientist * Little did the public know that this feat [a Covid vaccine] was largely down to one woman's relentless perseverance. Breaking Through ... charts the painstaking journey she undertook as a woman and an immigrant to convince the scientific community to take her work seriously ... rich with colourful metaphors that bring the immune system to life ... Kariko also lays bare a startling truth: even life-saving scientific discovery is not immune to ego, favouritism and sexism * NEW STATESMAN * A riveting testament to resilience and the power of unwavering belief -- JENNIFER DOUDNA, Nobel Prize laureate in chemistry The rousing story of a remarkable woman and her lifesaving contributions to medicine * PUBLISHERS WEEKLY *More details
Language
English
Place of publication
London
United Kingdom
Publishing group
Vintage Publishing
Target group
College/higher education
Professional and scholarly
Dimensions
Height: 222 mm
Width: 144 mm
Thickness: 32 mm
Weight
466 gr
ISBN-13
978-1-84792-825-2 (9781847928252)
Copyright in bibliographic data and cover images is held by Nielsen Book Services Limited or by the publishers or by their respective licensors: all rights reserved.
Schweitzer Classification
Person
Katalin Kariko is a biochemist and winner of the 2023 Nobel Prize in Medicine. Her pioneering research was the foundation of the Pfizer-BioNTech and Moderna mRNA vaccines against COVID-19 and paves the way for a host of treatments for cancer, HIV, malaria and other life-threatening diseases. Now an honorary professor at many universities, she has been awarded over a hundred prizes, had two children's books have been written about her and a minor planet named after her. She and her husband Bela are the parents of two-time Olympic rowing champion Susan Francia.