
The Family That Couldn't Sleep: Unravelling A Venetian Medical Mystery (Paperback)
D.T. Max (author)
£8.99
Paperback
336 Pages
Published: 01/05/2008
Published: 01/05/2008
Email me when available
Stay one step ahead and let us notify you when this item is next available to order
Email me when available
Enter your email below and we will notify you when this item is next available to order.

The Family That Couldn't Sleep: Unravelling A Venetian Medical Mystery (Paperback)
£8.99
Thank you
We will contact you when this item is next available to order.
The first symptoms begin after just a few sleepless nights, with shaking, sweating and overwhelming anxiety. They end only after months of agonising open-eyed deterioration when the victim finally falls into a coma-like state of exhaustion and then dies. Fatal Familial Insomnia is a rare, inherited disease that has afflicted one noble Venetian family for centuries, striking at random and passing from generation to generation like a deadly dynastic curse. The cause? A rogue protein called a prion, which is impossible to destroy and is also responsible for Mad Cow Disease and scrapie in sheep. In this groundbreaking work of scientific detection, D. T. Max pins down this most mutable and maddening of enemies and tells a story that is at once enlightening and spell-binding.
Publisher: Granta Books
ISBN: 9781846270901
Number of pages: 336
Weight: 320 g
Dimensions: 198 x 130 x 26 mm
MEDIA REVIEWS
'A devastating look at the politics of scientific research and a withering condemnation of British farming methods, this is one of the books of the year.' Scotland on Sunday 'Brilliantly disturbing' Arena 'What begins as gothic horror smoothly mutates into a compelling medical detective story as Max charts the struggles of competing scientists - an engaging and important debut.' Sunday Telegraph
You may also be interested in...
Please sign in to write a review
Sign In / Register
Not registered? CREATE AN ACCOUNTCREATE A plus ACCOUNT
Sign In
Download the Waterstones App
Would you like to proceed to the App store to download the Waterstones App?
Click & Collect
Reserve online, pay on collection
Thank you for your reservation
Your order is now being processed and we have sent a confirmation email to you at
When will my order be ready to collect?
Following the initial email, you will be contacted by the shop to confirm that your item is available for collection.
Call us on or send us an email at
Unfortunately there has been a problem with your order
Please try again or alternatively you can contact your chosen shop on or send us an email at