In Pursuit of Memory

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What to expect

When Joseph Jebelli was twelve, his beloved grandfather began to act very strangely. It started with inexplicable walks, and gradually his bright smiles were replaced by a fearful, withdrawn expression. Before long, he didn't recognise his family any more.

Dr Jebelli has dedicated his career to understanding Alzheimer's disease, which affects millions worldwide and 850,000 people in the UK alone. In this, his first book, Jebelli explores the past, present and future of Alzheimer's disease starting from the very beginning - the first recorded case more than one hundred years ago - right up to the cutting-edge research being done today. It is a story as good as any detective novel, taking us to nineteenth-century Germany and post-war England; to the jungles of Papua New Guinea and the technological proving grounds of Japan; to America, India, China, Iceland, Sweden, and Colombia; and to the cloud-capped spires of the most elite academic institutions. Its heroes are expert scientists from around the world - but also the incredibly brave patients and families who have changed the way scientists think about Alzheimer's, unveiling a pandemic that took us centuries to track down, and above all, reminding everyone never to take memory - our most prized possession - for granted.


Based upon years of meticulous research, In Pursuit of Memory is a compelling insider's account of this terrible disease and the scientists who are trying to find a cure against the clock.

(P)2017 John Murray Press

Critics Review

  • Joseph Jebelli’s wonderfully clear, vividly readable and comprehensive survey of the search for a cure . . . The world is closing in on Alzheimer’s. There is nowhere left for it to hide

    THE TIMES

  • A fascinating quest at the frontiers of neuro-degeneration… and a moving, sober and forensic study of the past, present and future of Alzheimer’s from the point of view of a neurologist who has lived with the disease, at home and in the lab, from a very young age. The story Jebelli tells illustrates the tantalising mystery of Alzheimer’s: it’s both highly visible yet agonizingly elusive…a timely analysis [that] might give comfort.

    OBSERVER

  • A personal story and smart scientific thinking reveal the history and humanity behind an epidemic that affects 44 million people worldwide

    NEW SCIENTIST

  • A riveting debut… the very human story of the disease that is now an epidemic

    BOOKSELLER, SCIENCE BOOK OF THE MONTH

  • In Pursuit of Memory is a remarkable combination of fine writing, personal honesty and deep scientific insight – about a devastating and baffling disease that is becoming all too common. Jebelli weighs up all the evidence and all the theories about Alzheimer’s and even allows us a glimpse of optimism about a cure

    MATT RIDLEY

  • An accessible, diligently researched and well-travelled overview of the disease that is more deadly than cancer. Jebelli poignantly weaves the current science with the tragic stories of affected families, not least his own

    SUNDAY TIMES

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