Joseph Jebelli, PhD, is a relatively young London-based neuroscientist, whose career to date has been focused on research into Alzheimer's disease (AD). In preparation for writing this accessible text, he has visited a large number of places where research into AD is conducted, from Sweden to Columbia, from Iceland to India, and he has spoken with many leading researchers as well as to people with early and late onset AD and their families. An account of the sad decline of his beloved grandfather, living in the capital of his family's original homeland, Iran, is the unifying thread that runs through the book, though several other highly personal narratives provide a very human touch. One turns pages with interest to find out what happens to the key players who are described.

This work of popular science gives a clear account of the amyloid cascade hypothesis as well as other key events and concepts in the evolution of our understanding of AD and is written in clear, precise language that will be accessible to people with minimal scientific education. If Jebelli is perhaps more optimistic about the future of AD research and treatment than some of us who have been around for a bit longer, and have experienced more disappointments, I would certainly like to hope his optimism is justified.

Although the book has a popular, anecdotal style, its account of research is accurate in all the particulars I have checked, and there is an extensive bibliography for those who want to read further. Aimed at the general reader, Jebelli's text can be recommended to families of AD patients and those with mild cognitive impairment or at high risk of getting AD in the future. It is coherent, accurate, and accessible. If only he did not use the mealy mouthed euphemism “passed away” when he means “died” it would be nearly perfect.