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 RaptureA Raucous Tour Of Cloning, Transhumanism, And And The New Era Of Immortalityby Brian Alexander Oct 5, 2004
DescriptionIn Rapture, Brian Alexander takes readers into the surprising stories behind cloning, stem cells, miracle drugs, and genetic engineering to show how the battle for the human soul is playing out in the broader culture-and how the outcome will affect us all. Rapture's Dickensian cast of characters includes the father of regenerative medicine, an anti-aging guru, and a former fundamentalist Christian and founder of the company that reportedly cloned the first human cell. This motley crew is in part being united by the force of the opposition: a burgeoning bio-Luddite movement whose foot soldiers-a strange coalition of conservative Republicans, the Christian right, and the Greens-predict impending doom should we become adherents of the new bio-utopian faith. Sometimes irreverent, sometimes shocking, always entertaining, Rapture shows how the biotech agenda has come to be seen as both salvation and heresy, how we have gotten this far already, and why we'll go where nobody thought we could. Reviews"Though sympathetic to his subjects and their work, Alexander casts his tale in shades of gray rather than in black and white, and the result is a nuanced portrait of the intersection of idealism, capitalism, politics and science on the frontiers of biotechnology that will leave readers eager to see what the future might hold." "Alexander writes with humor and an obvious fascination for his subject. Recommended for all science and medical collections." "Written for the lay reader, this exploration of the fringe science of biotechnology is alternately spooky, silly, and scintillating" "Well-reported and dense with insight." "Funny, bizarre, yet always fascinating." "Brian Alexander has turned the most important scientific revolution since Galileo into an adventure story that touches your mind and soul. No writer has ever dug this deep or looked forward this imaginatively. With Rapture, Alexander has become the voice of biotechnology for the 21st century." "I hope we can freeze Brian Alexander's brain and sensibility so he can keep writing. Rapture is a funny, smart look into a brave new world. At least save his DNA." "With the old-line attempts at staving off aging and death (cryonics, dietary supplements, caloric restriction) showing scant signs of working, a new pack of bio-info-chemonauts has grandiose, sometimes nutso plans for eradicating every last bug from our flawed human software. In an engaging narrative, Brian Alexander puts us on a first-name basis with the greater and lesser lights of this new wild bunch." Selling TerritoryWorld |
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