Death is Wrong

by Gennady Stolyarov II, Wendy Stolyarov (Illustrator)

If you have ever asked, “Why do people have to die?” then this book is for you. The answer is that no, death is not necessary, inevitable, or good. In fact, death is wrong. Death is the enemy of us all, to be fought with medicine, science, and technology. This book introduces you to the greatest, most challenging, most revolutionary movement to radically extend human lifespans so that you might not have to die at all. You will learn about some amazingly long-lived plants and animals, recent scientific discoveries that point the way toward lengthening lifespans in humans, and simple, powerful arguments that can overcome the common excuses for death. If you have ever thought that death is unjust and should be defeated, you are not alone. Read this book, and become part of the most important quest in human history. This book was written by the philosopher and futurist Gennady Stolyarov II and illustrated by the artist Wendy Stolyarov. It is here to show you that, no matter who you are and what you can do, there is always a way for you to help in humanity’s struggle against death.

Genres: Philosophy

42 pages, Kindle Edition

First published November 25, 2013

Reviews

[Zoltan Istvan · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is an outstanding children's book that deals with perhaps the most important theme of our age: overcoming and changing our views on death. This book is well-written, well-illustrated, and a fantastic read. Highly recommended! It's a book I will be giving out for birthdays and at holiday time.

[B.J. Murphy · Rating 5 out of 5]

Death to Death!

The qualm of death is a very uneasy burden we all suffer from. We dedicate hours of our time, spent in colloquy, discussing the myriad risks of life, though subsequently the tender rage to resist to ensure that life lives on. But then, when do we spend our time in preparing our children - the next generation - for what is to come, what is to discuss, and what is to fight for?

I believe this wonderful children's book, provided by the Stolyarovs, is a very grand step forward in achieving this. Not too grammatically complex, and not too excruciatingly simplistic, Death is Wrong is a blunt dose of reality, quick to the punch and holding nothing back. This is the book I wish I'd have read as a young child.

As science matures and technology continues growing at an exponential pace, especially in the medical sector, the words written here in this book will not only live on forever via the vast archives of historical literature, it will live on forever through the lives of the indefinitely extended - the cyborgs, the transhumans, the posthumans, etc.

While certainly not religious myself, I believe this loosely correlated - albeit relevant - quote from the Judeo-Christian bible will suffice as final remarks in tribute of this book's noble message to you, the reader:

"The last enemy that shall be destroyed is death." - 1 Corinthians 15:26

[Mati Roy · Rating 5 out of 5]

[FR | EN]

J'ai lu la version francophone de ce livre avec ma cousine de 10 ans en une soirée. Nous lisions chacun notre tour. Je pense qu'elle a bien aimé. Je vous recommande de lire ce livre avec vos enfants. Comme ça vous pourrez lui expliquer les quelques termes et concepts compliqués. Vous pourrez également discuter du livre et répondre aux questions posées ensemble.
_________

I read the French version of this book with my 10 years old cousin in an evening. We each read a part of it. I think she loved it. I recommend to read this book with your children, so you can explain them the few complicated terms and concepts. You could also exchange on the book and answer the questions asked.

[Eden Eltume · Rating 5 out of 5]

Simple, easy to understand and inspiring.

If you are curious and interested in the topic of prolonging life then this would be a great start for you.

[Tony Pearce]

Haven't read the book but the title is wrong. Death is a fact of life. It is appointed unto man to die once and after death the judgement. Hebrews 9.27 in the Bible. The wages of sin is death and the gift of God is eternal life in Jesus Christ. Romans 3.23. Transhumanism will never solve the problem of death. Only God can.

[Ben · Rating 1 out of 5]

This book is like teaching sex education to primary school children by showing them porn.

The author doesn't know his audience at all. It'll go way over kids' heads and is clearly meant for more mature minds.

If this is a children's book, it's a book for child prodigies. Not only does Stolyarov wax philosophical about death, which is a heady enough topic by itself, especially for younglings, he introduces complex ideas (and words!) such as compound interest, cell transdifferentiation, and biological senescence, almost always without explanation. This stuff is good for undergraduate textbooks, not for children's stories.

It has no narrative, no engagement with competing philosophical or spiritual positions about death except in the form of outright rejection, bland illustrations, mostly portraits of dead old white guys, and no sense of itself as a coherent project aimed at enthralling and transforming young minds.

A dud. But I like the idea. I hope the author, or someone better suited to the task, reworks and improves it.

[Giulio Prisco · Rating 5 out of 5]

Death is Wrong is a delicious little book for children and for life-extension advocates of all ages. Written by philosopher and futurist Gennady Stolyarov and illustrated by artist Wendy Stolyarov, the book shows that death is not inevitable, but a disease that can and will be cured by science.

Death is a disease, and hopefully future scientists, perhaps including the young readers of the book, will find a cure. Previous generations thought that death is inevitable, and invented delusional fake philosophies to make death easier to accept. This reaction is understandable – if you can’t avoid something, you look for ways to accept it – and explains all usual rhetorical babbling in praise of death: “overpopulation, make room for the young, death is a tool of evolution, boredom after a long life,” and the utterly idiotic “death gives meaning to life.” The book deconstructs all these fake “arguments” and calls them what they are: understandable but pathetic attempts to rationalize the inevitable.

But today’s children will know better: perhaps death is not inevitable, and since it is not inevitable, we should fight it aggressively, and find a cure. I am not very optimistic about the chances of curing death within my own lifetime, but I think there is a good chance to develop indefinite life extension by the end of this century, in useful time for many of today’s children. Or their children. I hope many young readers of Stolyarov’s book will become scientists and engineers, join the war on death, and contribute to the victory.

After reading the book cover to cover (it is short, an adult can read it in half an hour, and I am sure a young child can read it in one or two days), I am very pleased. The book is simple, crystal clear, accurate yet easy to read, and nicely illustrated.

See full review: http://turingchurch.com/2014/03/19/pr...

[Ramsey · Rating 4 out of 5]

Since this is a book intended for children, it will undoubtedly be an easy read for adults, and it's unlikely to present any novel concepts to people with any familiarity with futurism or transhumanism. That being said, I imagine this book could be very eye-opening and inspirational to a young child. It very simply and clearly puts forth the idea that death is not positive and theoretically not inevitable. My only qualm with the book is that I think it falls to justify its headline claim that death is "wrong". Negative, yes, but "wrong" implies immorality or injustice. I was also hoping for some imaginative theorizing at the end concerning HOW science might one day combat aging (nanobots? gene therapy?) rather than simply stating it will. But still, I enjoyed the book.

[Kurt Pankau · Rating 3 out of 5]

Stolyarov makes a compelling statement that death is, in fact, wrong, but he really doesn't do anything else with it. He casts a few glances at some of the research being done to prolong life, makes some completely unfounded comparisons to the heartiness of trees and jellies, and points the reader towards Aubrey de Grey. But it's kind of entertaining.

[Manuel A. Crespo-Rodríguez · Rating 5 out of 5]

This book is totally amazing! It is a short essay with excellent arguments against death. I highly recommend it.