Customer Reviews

Immortality:: How Science Is Extending Your Life Span--and Changing The World

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Dr. Ben Bova did a marvelous job writing this book, in an entertaining & logical manner, he explains that not only the how and details of this inevitable event of human existence, he also, explains to the reader the opposition such discoveries will run into, truly fascinating, and for those of you who still find it hard to believe after you have read it (which you won't, but if you do), check out the following company: GERON!--they are gonna be the Microsoft of Human Genetic enhancing drugs........"May you live in interesting times"--Chinese proverb--that is an understatement...............

How long would you like to live? 80 years? 100 years? 200 years? How about forever? You know, you just might.

Ben Bova has succeeded in gathering the most recent developments in medical science and technology together with the most credible extrapolations of current trends to write a terrific and much-needed book. He has studied the many diverse and often arcane fields of scientific investigation and somehow created a highly readable yet convincing depiction of where life extension research may lead us. He makes acceptable what used to seem unbelievable.

Immortality is not a long book and does not come across as scholarly or academic. It is clearly intended for the popular reader. And yet, I believe it is one of the most important and valuable books to be written within the last 20 years. If it is widely read and discussed, it will go a long way toward persuading the public that they'd better pay attention and begin preparing for the amazing ways in which our world is about to change.

NOTE: Ben Bova is not a medical doctor, but rather a Ph.D. of the liberal arts. The use of "Dr." before his name was probably his publisher's idea, intended to give the author more legitimacy on this topic. I find it disingenuous and needless. Ben Bova is a successful, respected writer of speculative fiction, and is probably as well qualified to write this book as any medical doctor.

It seems to me a great accomplishment that Ben Bova can maintain his conversational style while educating the public and provoking serious contemplation. Reading this book took me only 2 evenings, and it felt like having the author in my living room. I'm not a scientist. I didn't even know there was a difference between life expectancy and life span. Life expectancy has increased because of the percentage of children who now survive to adulthood thanks to medical advances. The human life span referred to in the Bible as threescore and ten (and sometimes fourscore) has really never changed. Until now, or almost now. We are on the brink of understanding cellular processes that cause what we know as "aging" to occur. The author explains in very clear terms the present theories of aging and the research efforts now underway. He also delves into all the moral quandaries involved...this was the area that prompted me to read the book. I wanted to know more about embryonic stem cell research and cloning, and why pursuing these technologies is or is not justified. I am Catholic! The author tries to be civil about religious viewpoints, but can barely manage. His viewpoints are always 100% secular and ammoral. Nevertheless, he presents the arguments of all, and makes his case is a logical manner. I do recommend this book for the nonscientist who wants to explore these issues and pick up a good deal of knowledge about how the research is being done.

This book offers a simple discussion for some of the causes of aging and the medical treatments which may be used to intervene in them. Bova does a very good job looking at how society will have to deal with the trends in medicine.

If you are do not have a science background, Part I (Chapters 1-15): "The Scientific Evidence" provides a good background for the biology & medicine. If you have a good background in these areas, you may want to skip to Part II: (Chapters 16-21) "The Impact of Immortality", which is much more interesting.

My background includes microbiology, biochemistry, several years of research into the causes of aging and 2 years as the president of Aeiveos Sciences Group where we studied the molecular biology of aging. I found misinterpretations or errors every few pages in the biology discussions. This is probably more the fault of the publisher who should have had the book reviewed by an expert in the field before publication. The treatment of nanotechnology (Chapter 15) is very simplistic.

Forthcoming books such as Nanomedicine by Robert Freitas will be much better in discussing the nuts & bolts of how you solve the problems of aging. Books such as Caleb Finch's "Longevity, Senescense and the Genome" and Steve Austad's "Why We Age" provide a much better background on the biology of aging.

I thouroughly enjoyed the entire book. Every chapter captures your interest and simply envelpes your mind. Many, and I mean many, Americans simply do not realize how far science has come in terms of life extension and eventually life unlimited. This books opens your eyes to alot of new frontiers that are already in our midst. It shares with the reader the up-to-date reviews of experiments currently underway, such as organ regeneration, telomere shortening and others dealing mainly with aging. The author concludes the book with his interpretation of what might, and in all reality could possibly, happen to our world as we know it if immortality was possible. Bottom line is its a great book that will keep you hanging on every line and leave you wanting to know more. "The more you read, the less you know."

Ben Bova has, in his book Immortality, accomplished wonderful things. He has managed to make science fun. That is a great accomplishment in and of itself and I recommend the book for this reason. More importantly, though, he has managed to outline the case for immortality. I read this with a critical eye. I am a scientist (a neurophysiologist). But I am now convinced that he is right: Death will someday disappear. As a scientist, it is my vocation to read scientific articles. I read scientific books, as well. They cover the science, all right, but rarely do they provide the big picture about a subject, rarely do they entertain and enthrall. I want the author to explore the possibilities of our existence. I want to be entertained. Few authors accomplish this. But Bova's Immortality fits the bill. I was enthralled. I was informed. My eyes did open upon the future. And what I saw excites me!

Ben Bova's latest work deals with the progress of science as it seeks to decipher the codes that bind all living organisms. The work details, in an extremely readable fashion, how scientists are making progress in molecular biology and how that progress will open the mysteries of life's very machineries. Dr Bova starts with the beginnings of medicine and reveals scientific progress as a fascinating journey of exploration and endless discovery, complete with blind alleys and false starts. He shows how scientists are "pushing the envelope" of research into extending active human life for centuries; and someday, millennia. He also points out the fact that these same scientists may not be entirely aware of the ultimate outcome of their work, or its implications. Dr Bova devotes part of his book to the meaning of long life, or virtual immortality, to the American and global societies. He addresses the concerns and objections to this progress, on several fronts; the sociological and the religious, for example. He demonstrates how Humanity has balked at such changes as the medical research will bring, and how Humanity is ill-equiped to deal with the potentials involved here. Like any talented professor, he offers no pat solutions, but gives the students the tools with which to reason. Most striking about the book, "Immortality", is the time frames discussed. Bova speaks of great progress made in perhaps less than a decade. He suspects that within fifty years science will have learned how to stop, and perhaps reverse, the process we call age. His opening words set the stage for all that will follow. "The first immortals are already living among us. You may be one of them". The insights are, for lack of a better word, ...timeless.

Alan McBride Science Reporter Florida's Radio Network

I found this book to be an enjoyable and easy read for a layman. Just enough information to "get it" without all the technical details/terminology that only serves to confuse the reader.

I highly recommend this book to anyone who wants to know about the state of modern medicine in exploring pathways for achieving greatly extended lifespans. A glimpse at what's coming down the pike that might ENORMOUSLY impact society.

Thoughtful and detailed, this book gives a very good overview of current thoughts, studies and avenues of research on life extension with care given to make the information clear to persons without a science background.

Bova has done a thoroughly convincing job of discussing current breakthroughs in research into cellular aging, human growth hormone studies, regeneration and more. His writing, as ever, is clear, precise and accessible. He is optimistic, but his research supports the optimism. The discussion of the implications of longevity on religion and politics is useful, as well.