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Ravenous: Otto Warburg, the Nazis, and the Search for the Cancer-Diet Connection Hardcover – May 25, 2021
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The extraordinary story of the Nazi-era scientific genius who discovered how cancer cells eat―and what it means for how we should.
The Nobel laureate Otto Warburg―a cousin of the famous finance Warburgs―was widely regarded in his day as one of the most important biochemists of the twentieth century, a man whose research was integral to humanity’s understanding of cancer. He was also among the most despised figures in Nazi Germany. As a Jewish homosexual living openly with his male partner, Warburg represented all that the Third Reich abhorred. Yet Hitler and his top advisors dreaded cancer, and protected Warburg in the hope that he could cure it.
In Ravenous, Sam Apple reclaims Otto Warburg as a forgotten, morally compromised genius who pursued cancer single-mindedly even as Europe disintegrated around him. While the vast majority of Jewish scientists fled Germany in the anxious years leading up to World War II, Warburg remained in Berlin, working under the watchful eye of the dictatorship. With the Nazis goose-stepping their way across Europe, systematically rounding up and murdering millions of Jews, Warburg awoke each morning in an elegant, antiques-filled home and rode horses with his partner, Jacob Heiss, before delving into his research at the Kaiser Wilhelm Society.
Hitler and other Nazi leaders, Apple shows, were deeply troubled by skyrocketing cancer rates across the Western world, viewing cancer as an existential threat akin to Judaism or homosexuality. Ironically, they viewed Warburg as Germany’s best chance of survival. Setting Warburg’s work against an absorbing history of cancer science, Apple follows him as he arrives at his central belief that cancer is a problem of metabolism. Though Warburg’s metabolic approach to cancer was considered groundbreaking, his work was soon eclipsed in the early postwar era, after the discovery of the structure of DNA set off a search for the genetic origins of cancer.
Remarkably, Warburg’s theory has undergone a resurgence in our own time, as scientists have begun to investigate the dangers of sugar and the link between obesity and cancer, finding that the way we eat can influence how cancer cells take up nutrients and grow. Rooting his revelations in extensive archival research as well as dozens of interviews with today’s leading cancer authorities, Apple demonstrates how Warburg’s midcentury work may well hold the secret to why cancer became so common in the modern world and how we can reverse the trend. A tale of scientific discovery, personal peril, and the race to end a disastrous disease, Ravenous would be the stuff of the most inventive fiction were it not, in fact, true.
15 black-and-white images- Print length416 pages
- LanguageEnglish
- PublisherLiveright
- Publication dateMay 25, 2021
- Dimensions6.2 x 1.4 x 9.3 inches
- ISBN-101631493159
- ISBN-13978-1631493157
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From the Publisher

Editorial Reviews
Review
― Sam Kean, Wall Street Journal
"Ravenous tells the story of an extraordinary life, and of the visionary work that sustained it.... [An] exceptionally interesting and well-written book."
― Thomas Morris, Times Literary Supplement
"The research that Warburg is best known for today, and the work that forms the backbone of Ravenous, is his discovery that cancer cells behave differently from healthy cells in two very specific ways: They consume massive amounts of glucose ― Apple compares them to ravenous shipwrecked sailors ― and they eschew aerobic respiration in favor of fermentation. . . Apple covers everything from Hitler’s obsessive preoccupation with cancer to how the German Empire’s transformation into an industrial powerhouse led to a Romanticism-fueled movement that emphasized both environmental and racial purity. The fact that Apple can make these stories . . . feel so immediate is a testament to his canny knack for choosing apposite details."
― New York Times Book Review
"[Apple] weaves together this complex narrative in a way that makes arcane science accessible and fascinating. The book is also thought-provoking for anyone interested in avoiding cancer ― and who isn’t?"
― Marie McCullough, Philadelphia Inquirer
"[A] fascinating new book about the link between diet and cancer... [Ravenous] has received positive reviews from both cancer researchers and general readers interested in how the way we eat in Western societies (specifically the inordinate amounts of sugar we consume) makes us vulnerable to cancer."
― Renee Ghert-Zand, The Times of Israel
"Ravenous is a page-turner, and much of its success is due to Apple’s fluid, approachable writing.... A joy to read and an utterly fascinating tale."
― Juli Berwald, Jewish Book Council
"A fascinating account of Warburg."
― Sylvia R. Karasu M.D., Psychology Today
"[A] spellbinding new work of reporting by science journalist Sam Apple. Rarely has such an array of medical troubles, historical events, bench science and political intrigue come together as they do in Ravenous."
― Paul John Scott, Post Bulletin
"Apple . . . delivers a gripping account of biochemist Otto Warburg (1883–1970) and the origins of modern cancer science in his excellent latest. . . As he draws fascinating insights from the interplay between science and ideology. . . Apple keeps the scientific explanations easy to understand, while interviews with a slew of characters add color. This is a bona fide page-turner."
― Publishers Weekly, starred review
"[Apple] skillfully blends science writing with biography to present the story of this quirky, arrogant, and brilliant scientist, who revolutionized research on cancer and photosynthesis (how organisms use energy to make glucose).... An illuminating account that makes Warburg (the man and the scientist) accessible to general readers."
― Karl Helicher, Library Journal
"A long-overdue biography of German biologist Otto Warburg (1883-1970), who won the Nobel Prize for his work on cell respiration and metabolism, especially as related to cancer.... A welcome addition to the library on the disease and one of its most successful enemies."
― Kirkus Reviews
From the Back Cover
“A fascinating account of an impossibly arrogant scientific genius, his collision with the monster Adolph Hitler, and the revolutions in cancer research. Sam Apple, a lively stylist, handles these complex, braided narrative threads with clarity, insight, and a nose for the paradoxical and absurd. The result is a genuine contribution to science writing and a model for how to do contemporary nonfiction.”
― Phillip Lopate, Professor of Writing, Columbia University, editor of The Glorious American Essay
“Sam Apple is a spellbinding storyteller and explainer of science. Ravenous will change the way you think about cancer and how to prevent it.”
― Jason Fung, MD, author of The Cancer Code
“Otto Warburg’s decades-old science is central to a revolution in thinking about cancer as a metabolic disease. Sam Apple’s riveting book, Ravenous, reveals Warburg in all his brilliant, bizarre complexity and is a must-read for anyone interested in the science behind low-carbohydrate/high-fat and ketogenic eating.”
― Gary Taubes, science journalist, author of The Case Against Sugar
“Sam Apple’s Ravenous is biography at its best. Otto Warburg is an uncommonly good subject―a cell biologist who could not stand his fellow humans but devoted himself to saving them from the scourge of cancer. The author’s understanding of Warburg’s life and scientific legacy is perceptive and subtle, his biology lessons are a joy to read, and his history of the connections between Hitler and Germany’s early cancer research is a small masterpiece.”
― Patricia O’Toole, author of The Five of Hearts, When Trumpets Call, and The Moralist
“A remarkable book that just might make you rethink your diet. It’s well known―or should be―that poor nutrition can disrupt metabolism and lead to obesity, diabetes, and heart disease. In Ravenous, Sam Apple reveals that many of the most deadly cancers are connected to this very same diet-driven disease process.”
― Mark Hyman, MD, author of The Pegan Diet and Head of Strategy and Innovation at the Cleveland Clinic Center for Functional Medicine
"A brilliant weave of history and science, Ravenous tells the riveting story of how Otto Warburg, a Nobel Prize–winning biochemist and a gay man of Jewish descent, survived the Third Reich in a posh Berlin suburb, and how his theories of metabolic cancer cells may yet hold the key to finding a cure for the defining disease of our time.”
― Helmut Walser Smith, professor of German studies at Vanderbilt University and author of The Butcher’s Tale and Germany: A Nation in Its Time
“Ravenous reads like a cancer mystery with the larger-than-life Warburg in the role of the determined detective. By learning of the scientific struggles of the past, you'll gain a new appreciation for the modern focus on hormones, such as insulin, in the development of cancer.”
― Benjamin Bikman, Associate Professor, Brigham Young University, author of Why We Get Sick
“A fantastic read. If you’re interested in history or science― or just need inspiration to eat less sugar―this is the book for you.”
― Nina Teicholz, science journalist and best-selling author of The Big Fat Surprise
“While tobacco-induced cancer deaths continue to decline, the second major cause of cancer―obesity―moves to center stage. Few realize its profound importance in causing cancer. Sam Apple has written an endlessly interesting and carefully researched book.”
― Robert A. Weinberg, founding member of the Whitehead Institute and professor of biology at MIT
“A gripping and smart page-turner, Sam Apple’s Ravenous tells two fascinating interwoven stories: that of the pioneer of cancer metabolism research Otto Warburg, who in the twenty-first century finally has been proven right, and that of Hitler’s fear of cancer, both as the disease that had killed his mother and as a political metaphor.”
― Thomas Weber, professor of history and international affairs at the University of Aberdeen and author of Becoming Hitler
About the Author
Product details
- Publisher : Liveright; First Edition (May 25, 2021)
- Language : English
- Hardcover : 416 pages
- ISBN-10 : 1631493159
- ISBN-13 : 978-1631493157
- Item Weight : 1.4 pounds
- Dimensions : 6.2 x 1.4 x 9.3 inches
- Best Sellers Rank: #207,195 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)
- #32 in Cell Biology (Books)
- #120 in Oncology (Books)
- #596 in History & Philosophy of Science (Books)
- Customer Reviews:
About the author

Sam Apple is on the faculty of the MA in Science Writing and MA in Writing programs at Johns Hopkins. Prior to his arrival at Johns Hopkins, Apple taught creative writing and journalism at the University of Pennsylvania for ten years. He holds a BA in English and Creative Writing from the University of Michigan and an MFA in Creative Nonfiction from Columbia University.
Apple is the author of Ravenous American Parent, and Schlepping Through the Alps. He has published short stories, personal essays, satires, and journalistic features on a wide range of topics. In recent years, he has primarily written about science and health. His work has appeared in The New York Times Magazine, The New Yorker, The Atlantic, Wired, The Los Angeles Times, The Financial Times Magazine, ESPN The Magazine, The MIT Technology Review, and McSweeney’s, among many other publications. Schlepping Through the Alps was a finalist for the PEN America Award for a first work of nonfiction.
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Customers find the book provides valuable information about scientific discoveries and genius of Otto Warburg. They describe it as a fascinating blend of history and science, with clear explanations and an easy-to-read style. Readers appreciate the well-written content and mention it reads like a novel. The book explores the connection between diet and cancer, including how cancer cells love carbohydrates and the scientific research on cellular metabolism in the 19th and 20th centuries.
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Customers appreciate the book's information quality. They find it a wonderful blend of history and science, with clear explanations of the science. The book fills in a gap in the history of science and medicine, using clever metaphors that help the lay reader understand complex topics without condescension.
"...learn more on the subject I found this to be a well-written book - half history and half science...." Read more
"...The reading of this will not scare you to death: It's not science class. Very much like reading a good novel... You didn't expect that I'll bet...." Read more
"This book fills in a huge void in the history of science and medicine, dredges up things that we collectively forgot...." Read more
"...like a novel, with suspense and intrigue, while the scientific issues are rendered with clarity and with the use of clever metaphors that help the..." Read more
Customers find the book engaging and recommend it. They say it's a must-read for history and science enthusiasts. The narrative captures Otto Warburg's essence and does a great job of telling his story.
"...I greatly enjoyed this book and highly recommend it." Read more
"...No doubt you'll mention this book. It's a fun read. Characters throughout...." Read more
"...It's an enjoyable read, an excellent, well researched, and lively pop science book." Read more
"...I love reading about WW2 and how terrible the Nazis were and how calling anyone a Nazi in America is doing an injustice to the Jews of Europe." Read more
Customers like the writing quality of the book. They find it well-written, with suspense and intrigue. The book is an easy read and informative, with good science writing.
"...and wanted to learn more on the subject I found this to be a well-written book - half history and half science...." Read more
"...Very much like reading a good novel... You didn't expect that I'll bet. Not preachy. Definitely not boring. Again: science/war/intrigue...." Read more
"...But his writing shines even more -- his book reads like a novel, with suspense and intrigue, while the scientific issues are rendered with clarity..." Read more
"...It's dense material delivered in a wonderfully readable fashion...." Read more
Customers find the book an important exploration of the connection between diet and cancer. They mention it explores history, nutrition, and related issues like how cancer cells love carbohydrates. The book also discusses scientific research on cellular metabolism in the 19th and 20th centuries.
"...development of cancer related issues including how super hungry cancer cells love carbohydrates, how likely influence cancer and the white poison of..." Read more
"...Warburg (Nobel Prize winner, discoverer of the Warburg Effect), cancer and diet, and scientific research on cellular metabolism in the 19th and 20th..." Read more
"...would make an incredible movie and is an important exploration of the connection between diet and cancer. The writing is clear and riveting...." Read more
"Fascinating History, Important Nutrition..." Read more
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Phenomenal Blend of Science & Story. A MUST Read
Top reviews from the United States
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- Reviewed in the United States on September 23, 2024I have been following the research on the metabolic theory of cancer, and wanted to learn more on the subject I found this to be a well-written book - half history and half science. Otto Warburg was quite a character; I had not heard much about him before. But this book also taught me a lot more about Hitler and what it was like to live in Germany during the Nazi regime.
I also gained a greater understanding of how metabolism plays an important role in the development of cancer, and this made me curious to learn even more about the subject. I greatly enjoyed this book and highly recommend it.
- Reviewed in the United States on December 17, 2023Yes, sugar can be a danger to your health. You may already know that.
This book is not a science-class lecture: Rather a good read actually. You will be brought to think-about and learn to respect the physiology of YOUR body. We're not all the same. It's time to know your risks.
The reading of this will not scare you to death: It's not science class. Very much like reading a good novel... You didn't expect that I'll bet. Not preachy. Definitely not boring. Again: science/war/intrigue.
Will bring you to thinking about asking your doctor some real questions; and listening to her/him: With understanding. No doubt you'll mention this book.
It's a fun read. Characters throughout. Intrigue and Nazis and all that is upside down in a terrible world war.
- Reviewed in the United States on June 16, 2021This book fills in a huge void in the history of science and medicine, dredges up things that we collectively forgot. We believe that medical science is objective, but it turns out that it is tainted by politics just like everything else. Science is driven by very talented egotists, some of whom are partially right, and some who are dead wrong. Being right is not enough in science, you also need to be both right, have proof that you are right, and be on the right side of history. The first one is easier than the other two: convincing the scientific establishment is enormously difficult, even when evidence seems to be overwhelming. Scurvy was conquered by British sailors in 1700s, but early polar explorers put their faith in modern canning technology and rotted alive for the want of a little bit of vitamin c that they could have gotten from fresh lemon juice. While having a cure that worked, scientists did not understand why it worked, and at any chance chose faith in their own theories over experimental evidence. We might be experiencing a similar scientific disaster right now: there's very little understanding of the causes of the obesity epidemic, the metabolic syndrome, and the rampaging diabetes. It was strange that while I've learned about Hans Krebs in high school, and even had to memorize his famous cycle ( I can recall parts of it from memory 30 years later: oxalo acetate - acetyl coa - citrate - cis acanitate - oxalo suxcinate - fumrate - malate - and back to oxalo acetate ). But never once have I learned about his mentor, Otto Warburg. This book filled in this gap in my knowledge, and made me think deeply about the role of persuasion in science. It's an enjoyable read, an excellent, well researched, and lively pop science book.
- Reviewed in the United States on February 27, 2022Just finished the book. I saw this book as two parts one about Otto other about cancer and cancer research. Maybe I’m just too much of a simpleton but found the cancer terminology and research discussions over my head. I love reading about WW2 and how terrible the Nazis were and how calling anyone a Nazi in America is doing an injustice to the Jews of Europe.
- Reviewed in the United States on March 8, 2022The author of this book, Sam Apple, teaches science writing at John Hopkins, so no surprise that he writes well about science. But his writing shines even more -- his book reads like a novel, with suspense and intrigue, while the scientific issues are rendered with clarity and with the use of clever metaphors that help the lay reader understand complex topics without condescension.
The book ostensibly concerns Otto Warburg, a gay Jewish Nobel Prize winner living in Berlin under Hitler. That it's actually about much more than that is a real credit to Apple, who helps us trace the line of scientific inquiry into the causes of cancerous tumors in humans, and how that line diverged, broke up, and came back together. The Warburg connection feels tenuous at times, but Apple finds a way to bring him back into the discussion, and notably, doesn't pretend Warburg was nicer than he was. But Warburg also gets his due -- he's a forgotten Nobel Laureate who deserves much more credit than he's received by the general public, and this book is going a long way to giving him the notoriety he deserves.
Meanwhile, I can't look at food the same way any more, so whether your bag is nutrition, health, chemistry, cancer research, or stories about truly fascinating people, this great read is worth every dime and minute that you spend on it.
- Reviewed in the United States on May 25, 2021Ever wonder why cancer has become so common? Well, there's a metabolic connection ... At least 13 different cancers have now been strongly linked to excess body fat. This book explains it all. It's part biography (the story of Otto Warburg, scientist, who discovered how cancer cells eat), part history (Nazis), and most importantly, it explains how sugar consumption and obesity have led to the dramatic increase in cancer over the past hundred + years.
If you are curious to learn how you have a chance at preventing cancer, this book is for you. If you are interested in history, it's also for you. It's dense material delivered in a wonderfully readable fashion. I highly recommend this book to everyone, and particularly to medical professionals who are seeking a more in depth look at cancer development. I already limit my sugar consumption. Now I'm going to make sure it's essentially zero. Thanks to the author, Sam Apple, for helping me on my journey to improve my health!
- Reviewed in the United States on May 8, 2024With my interest in science and history, this was a very interesting book.
It is helpful for those who wish to improve their health and potentially extend their life through better choices regarding their diet.
Top reviews from other countries
- jennifer bowermanReviewed in Canada on October 29, 2023
5.0 out of 5 stars The history of cancer research! How did Otto Warburg survive and wha happened to his theories
Great book about the history of cancer research and how it has gone off the rails. Sam Apple is a superb writer and researcher
- PaulReviewed in Germany on August 22, 2023
5.0 out of 5 stars History, Science and drama
Astonishing character living in extraordinary times.
This book documents how, before WWII, German scientists lead the way in biology, only to be mainly ignored and forgotten afterwards.
Warburg discovered that cancer cells love glucose. (he didn't know about glutamine). His cancer research was the only thing that protected him from the regime, as the leaders (AH etc.) had a mortal fear of the disease.
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East Texas RedReviewed in Spain on July 23, 2022
5.0 out of 5 stars Buen historia
Muy interesante, bien escrito.
- M MReviewed in the United Kingdom on July 16, 2021
5.0 out of 5 stars Before Keto, Atkins, South Beach there was the science of Otto Warburg.
Author Sam Apple recontextualizes Warburg's work for the modern reader, bridging connections between the Nobel Prize winner's WW2 era lab work and today's cancer and obesity epidemics.
This expertly told story mixes an accessible history of Warburg's academic research on metabolism's role in cancer progression with a biography of a scientist whose personal narrative is heavily influenced by Nazi Germany and family history.
While Warburg is the star of this story, Apple makes connections for the reader of other scientific discoveries that broadened our understanding of the growth and death of cancer. We're shown how Warburg's views faded and are coming back again with new found understanding of the sugar cancer connection.
If you're interested in the history of science this is a great, entertaining book. If you're interested in the history of cancer science, it's that much more brilliant and important of a read.
- Ann SReviewed in the United Kingdom on August 12, 2021
5.0 out of 5 stars One of the best popular science books I’ve read
Easy to follow, fascinating and informative. I recommend this to anyone who likes a good narrative and also wants to know more about the development of understanding cancer.