Customer Reviews

The Immortalist

5 star:		(3)
4 star:		(0)
3 star:		(1)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

"Death is an imposition on the human race, and no longer acceptable." That's the first sentence, and it gives a good feel for the book. Harrington spends too much time on psycho-babble, analysing our fear of both death and immortality. Some is interesting and some not. But he displays clear thinking about what it will take to end the certainty of old age and death as an unavoidable fate for every human being -- barring accident or disease, of course. It's an intriguing idea passionately presented. The Discus/Avon paperback from 1970 has an eye-catching painting on the cover (no credit, alas) of an old man standing knee-deep in the ocean, his skin peeling away to reveal -- a young man

A very inspiring read. Alan Harrington mustered the best case for conquering Old Age and Death in 1969. But he was a bit too much ahead of the science. Did not have stem-cell research and the coming-of-age of biotech and genetic engineering and cloning. So in the end he was a bit tentative. You should buy book anyway. It is an Immortalist standard.

I came across this in my University library a few years ago, and I checked it out. At the time I didn't know who Alan Harrington was, but I read this book and other than the fact that some sections have a few outdated examples of technology due to the age of this book, it was a great explanation and argument of the immortalist mindset.

"The time has come to kill Death."

This book reviews the possibility of making people immortal and examines the philosophical and other consequences of doing so. It is a wonderful concept, and turns the book into a model giant essay, providing an excuse for examining the key role that death plays in human civilization. They don't write 'em like this any more.

Someone should start writing The New Immortalist. It's about time.