D. T. Max was born and raised in New York City and graduated from Harvard in 1984. He has been an editor at Washington Square Press, Houghton Mifflin, and The New York Observer. For the past eight years, he has reported mostly for The New York Times Magazine. His work has also appeared in the Los Angeles Times, The Wall Street Journal, San Francisco Chronicle, and Chicago Tribune. He lives outside Washington, D.C., with his wife, their two young children, and a rescued beagle named Max.
Advance praise
“The Family that Couldn’t Sleep is a riveting detective story that
plumbs one of the deepest mysteries of biology. The story takes the
reader from the torments of an Italian family cursed with
sleeplessness to the mad cows of England (and, now, America),
following an unlikely trail of misfolded proteins. D. T. Max
unfolds his absorbing narrative with rare grace and makes the
science sing.” –Michael Pollan, author of The Omnivore’s Dilemma
and The Botany of Desire
“Much has been written about prions and Mad Cow Disease–nearly all
of it is worthless. Thankfully, from the world of journalism comes
D.T. Max to set things right. Throw all those other “Mad Cow” books
in the trash: This is the book to read about prions–or whatever you
want to call them. It’s a riveting tale, told by someone with a
very special understanding, derived in part from his own strange
ailment. Find a cozy spot, clear your schedule and dive in.”
– Laurie Garrett, author of Betrayal of Trust and The Coming
Plague
“D. T. Max deftly unfolds the mysterious prion in all its
villainous guises. Although scientists do not fully understand
these proteins–how they replicate and wreak such havoc in their
victims’ brains–The Family That Couldn’t Sleep reveals their
historical, cultural, and scientific place in our world. Prepare to
be enlightened, entertained, and frightened.”
–Katrina Firlik, MD, author of Another Day in the Frontal Lobe
“A great book. D.T. Max has drawn the curtain on a
cabinet of folly and malady that will stagger your
imagination.”
– Philip Weiss, author of American Taboo
“D.T. Max has combined the enthralling medical anthropology of
Oliver Sacks with the gothic horror of Stephen King to produce a
medical detective story that is as intelligent as it is spooky. The
villain of The Family That Couldn’t Sleep is the prion, a tiny
little protein that causes some of the most terrifying,
brain-mangling, creepy diseases known to man. Always
fascinating–how could it not be, given that its characters include
cannibals, mad cows, madder sheep, a Nobel prize-winning pedophile,
and, most poignantly, an Italian family cursed by fatal
insomnia?–Max’s book is also a gripping account of scientific
discovery, and a heartfelt meditation on what it means to be cursed
with an incurable, and brutal, illness.” – David Plotz, author of
The Genius Factory
Advance praise
"The Family that Couldn't Sleep is a riveting detective
story that plumbs one of the deepest mysteries of biology. The
story takes the reader from the torments of an Italian family
cursed with sleeplessness to the mad cows of England (and, now,
America), following an unlikely trail of misfolded proteins. D. T.
Max unfolds his absorbing narrative with rare grace and makes the
science sing." -Michael Pollan, author of The Omnivore's
Dilemma and The Botany of Desire
"Much has been written about prions and Mad Cow Disease-nearly all
of it is worthless. Thankfully, from the world of journalism comes
D.T. Max to set things right. Throw all those other "Mad Cow" books
in the trash: This is the book to read about prions-or whatever you
want to call them. It's a riveting tale, told by someone with a
very special understanding, derived in part from his own strange
ailment. Find a cozy spot, clear your schedule and dive in."
- Laurie Garrett, author of Betrayal of Trust and The
Coming Plague
"D. T. Max deftly unfolds the mysterious prion in all its
villainous guises. Although scientists do not fully understand
these proteins-how they replicate and wreak such havoc in their
victims' brains-The Family That Couldn't Sleep reveals their
historical, cultural, and scientific place in our world. Prepare to
be enlightened, entertained, and frightened."
-Katrina Firlik, MD, author of Another Day in the Frontal
Lobe
"A great book. D.T. Max has drawn the curtain on a cabinet of folly
and malady that will stagger your imagination."
- Philip
Weiss, author of American Taboo
"D.T. Max has combined the enthralling medical anthropology of
Oliver Sacks with the gothic horror of Stephen King to produce a
medical detective story that is as intelligent as it is spooky. The
villain of The Family That Couldn't Sleep is the prion, a
tiny little protein that causes some of the most terrifying,
brain-mangling, creepy diseases known to man. Always
fascinating-how could it not be, given that its characters include
cannibals, mad cows, madder sheep, a Nobel prize-winning pedophile,
and, most poignantly, an Italian family cursed by fatal
insomnia?-Max's book is also a gripping account of scientific
discovery, and a heartfelt meditation on what it means to be cursed
with an incurable, and brutal, illness." - David Plotz, author of
The Genius Factory
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