The Scientific Conquest of Death

by Sebastian Sethe (Editor in Chief), Michael R. Rose, Brad F. Mellon

Nineteen scientists, doctors and philosophers share their perspective on what is arguably the most significant scientific development that humanity has ever faced - the eradication of aging and mortality. This anthology is both a gentle introduction to the multitude of cutting-edge scientific developments, and a thoughtful, multidisciplinary discussion of the ethics, politics and philosophy behind the scientific conquest of aging.

Genres: Philosophy, Nonfiction, Science

296 pages, Paperback

First published October 12, 2004

Reviews

[Frederick Gault · Rating 2 out of 5]

Badly dated I'm sorry to say and some of the predictions made have not come to pass. Still worth a look, if only to see how tricky it is to predict the future, and how most who do so are usually wrong.

[Mark]

This is a collection of essays on research about the prevention (and reversal) of the aging process. The whole book is downloadable as a .pdf file from the Immortality Institute's website. I found this after seeing a twenty minute talk given by Aubrey de Grey at TED (viewable on youtube), and I found his chapter interesting.

[Shannon Vyff · Rating 5 out of 5]

This book covers nano-tech, to bio-tech--cryonics to calorie restriction and our best bets for extending life now--also the ethical and moral concerns for earth, humanity now, and in the far future... Also there is a chapter by me, the book will be updated by 2010--as the field is constantly changing.

[Anca · Rating 5 out of 5]

I read this book during medical school and I enjoyed it a lot. This collection of essays proved very useful in understanding the areas of research currently supporting life extension. I don't use most of them in clinical practice, but hopefully this situation will change.

[IceWizard9000 · Rating 4 out of 5]

The science and technology covered has high hopes, but require idealized circumstances to flourish. I'm skeptical, as many of us are regarding futurism. The philosophy the book covers is where the real meat is to be found.