The lives of a cell
by Lewis Thomas · first published 1974
7mentions
6recommended by
7HN commenters
2012–2025first – last mentioned
86% recommend14% neutral
Why HN recommends it
Short, well-written essays on biology and medicine that convey wonder at living systems; readers say they opened up a deep appreciation of life and suit anyone curious about science, not just specialists.
Summarised by Claude from recommending comments
Essays which appeared in the New England journal of medicine. His reflections and observations on man and nature, science and life, biology and life and on health and language.
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An awesome book titled "The lives of a cell" by "Thomas Lewis" delved into the problems of Medicine (among other things) in the later 70s. He was amazingly prescient about the problems that Medicine faces today. He also offered some wonderful solutions…
on “When A Daughter Dies” ↗…learned early in marriage by internists wives, but still hidden from the general public, is that most things get better by themselves. Most things, in fact, are better by morning." - Lewis Thomas, The Lives of a Cell (Among other achievements, he was dean of Yale Medical School and president of Sloan-Kettering. This collection of essays was published in 1974 and is absolutely prescient and fascinating - he offers…
on “A new hypothesis in medicine: give patients drugs they know don’t work” ↗"The Lives of a Cell" by Lewis Thomas is a tremendous book, pulling back the curtain on biology. Clear, concise and well written, very similar to Feynman with physics.
on “When A Daughter Dies” ↗…By Kurt Vonnegut (Fiction, but related) (I loved this book, but it's not for everyone I suppose. A couple of my friends didn't like it.) "Napoleon's Buttons" By Penny Le Couteur and Jay Burreson "The Lives of a Cell: Notes of a Biology Watcher" By Lewis Thomas --------------------------------------------------------------------------------- (2) If she's interested in learning a lot about cellular biology in beautifully…
on “Ask HN: What are some good general technical books for teenagers?” ↗Lives of a Cell, Lewis Thomas.
on “Ask HN: What book had a big impact on you as a child or teenager?” ↗…or text books. They blew my mind and opened up a deep respect for the field of biology and gave me a deep appreciation of life in all its forms, so many of which I didn't know existed. Look for: The Lives of a Cell: Notes of a Biology Watcher The Medusa and the Snail: More Notes of a Biology Watcher The Youngest Science ...and a couple of thers.
on “I should have loved biology too” ↗…Viking Press in 1979 and reissued by Penguin Books in 1995. Most of the essays in the book had first appeared in the New England Journal of Medicine. It is Thomas's second collection of short essays after Lives of a Cell.[1] The title essay is about the relationship between Nudibranch sea slug and the medusa of a jellyfish that inhabit the Bay of Naples. It explores how the relationship between the two creatures can…
on “We need new metaphors that put life at the centre of biology Essays” ↗