Breezy survey of the history, science and impact of p53, a protein (and associated gene) that suppresses tumors and basically prevents cancer. Discusses the impact of mutations, temperature, and more without getting too technical, and is a good starting point for current knowledge.

The history starts early and covers the breakthroughs that led to where we are now. This was the most interesting portion for me. The science is not as well covered, and left me wanting a little more. Armstrong does cover what we know (so far) of explanations for inherited cancer, childhood cancer and damage caused by environment (e.g. smoking and sunburn).

I started with breezy because the journalism might seem excessive. Knowing she met a scientist on a spring day or that he has curly hair is a little outside the topic at hand. Aside from that, this book does cover a lot of ground in its less than 300 pages. 3 stars (out of 5).