Robin Hesketh has been a member of the Department of Biochemistry at the University of Cambridge and a fellow of Selwyn College for over 40 years, working on cancer biology. He has published over 100 research papers, a textbook on cancer (Introduction to Cancer Biology, Cambridge, 2013) and popular science books (Betrayed by Nature, Palgrave, 2012). He has spoken on cancer and has run a blog on the topic of cancer for the general public since 2011.

'How often have we attended a lecture or opened a book to find that within minutes we are smothered by complicated facts that are way beyond our understanding? There has been no simple introduction. The speaker/author is so involved in the topic that they could no longer see out of the intellectual hole that they had dug for themselves. If ever a book was written to dispel this fault, then this is the one, as Robin Hesketh has managed to provide a remarkably clear and readable account of the science behind cellular behaviour and faults that lead to the development of cancer. The book reads like a novel, and I found that I could hardly put it down. The literary style is at times light-hearted with humorous analogies.' Robert Whitaker, anatomist, University of Cambridge

• 1. Painting a clear picture; 2. Ancient history; 3. Counting cancer; 4. From DNA to protein; 5. What is a cell?; 6. Mutations; 7. Causes of cancer that can be controlled; 8. Causes of cancer that are difficult to control, accidents … and other things; 9. Treating cancer by chemotherapy; 10. The road to utopia?

Robin Hesketh has been a member of the Department of Biochemistry at the University of Cambridge and a fellow of Selwyn College for over 40 years, working on cancer biology. He has published over 100 research papers, a textbook on cancer (Introduction to Cancer Biology, Cambridge, 2013) and popular science books (Betrayed by Nature, Palgrave, 2012). He has spoken on cancer and has run a blog on the topic of cancer for the general public since 2011.

'How often have we attended a lecture or opened a book to find that within minutes we are smothered by complicated facts that are way beyond our understanding? There has been no simple introduction. The speaker/author is so involved in the topic that they could no longer see out of the intellectual hole that they had dug for themselves. If ever a book was written to dispel this fault, then this is the one, as Robin Hesketh has managed to provide a remarkably clear and readable account of the science behind cellular behaviour and faults that lead to the development of cancer. The book reads like a novel, and I found that I could hardly put it down. The literary style is at times light-hearted with humorous analogies.' Robert Whitaker, anatomist, University of Cambridge

• 1. Painting a clear picture; 2. Ancient history; 3. Counting cancer; 4. From DNA to protein; 5. What is a cell?; 6. Mutations; 7. Causes of cancer that can be controlled; 8. Causes of cancer that are difficult to control, accidents … and other things; 9. Treating cancer by chemotherapy; 10. The road to utopia?

Robin Hesketh has been a member of the Department of Biochemistry at the University of Cambridge and a fellow of Selwyn College for over 40 years, working on cancer biology. He has published over 100 research papers, a textbook on cancer (Introduction to Cancer Biology, Cambridge, 2013) and popular science books (Betrayed by Nature, Palgrave, 2012). He has spoken on cancer and has run a blog on the topic of cancer for the general public since 2011.

'How often have we attended a lecture or opened a book to find that within minutes we are smothered by complicated facts that are way beyond our understanding? There has been no simple introduction. The speaker/author is so involved in the topic that they could no longer see out of the intellectual hole that they had dug for themselves. If ever a book was written to dispel this fault, then this is the one, as Robin Hesketh has managed to provide a remarkably clear and readable account of the science behind cellular behaviour and faults that lead to the development of cancer. The book reads like a novel, and I found that I could hardly put it down. The literary style is at times light-hearted with humorous analogies.' Robert Whitaker, anatomist, University of Cambridge

• 1. Painting a clear picture; 2. Ancient history; 3. Counting cancer; 4. From DNA to protein; 5. What is a cell?; 6. Mutations; 7. Causes of cancer that can be controlled; 8. Causes of cancer that are difficult to control, accidents … and other things; 9. Treating cancer by chemotherapy; 10. The road to utopia?