Remaking Eden: Cloning and Beyond in a Brave New World [Hardcover]

Lee M. Silver (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: December 1, 1997 | ISBN-10: 0380974940 | ISBN-13: 978-0380974948 | Edition: 1

On February 27, 1997, a stunning announcement appeared in the British journal Nature: for the first time ever, a mammal--a lamb named Dolly--had been successfully cloned from an adult cell. Less than a week later, scientists reported the successful cloning of a rhesus monkey, a primate whose reproduction and development is almost identical to our own. With two bold and hitherto unthinkable strokes, science fiction was transformed into science fact, preparing the way for a miraculous event that is, in all probability, inevitable: the cloning of a human being.

A distinguished scientist and professor at Princeton University, Lee M. Silver reveals what awaits us in the brilliant light of the new day that is now dawning. REMAKING EDEN is a fascinating exploration of the future of reprogenetic technologies--a cautiously optimistic look at the scientific advances that will allow us to engineer life in ways that were unimaginable just a few short years ago. Indeed, in ways that go far beyond cloning, and that are at once more thrilling and more frightening.

This is a brilliant, provocative, and necessary book. For better or worse, it describes the likely future of humankind--beyond fears both reasoned and unreasonable, beyond unrealistic utopian visions--an extra ordinary journey into a rapidly evolving tomorrow that no man or woman can forestall, but that we must all recognize and understand. REMAKING EDEN is an essential primer for that tomorrow.

Editorial Reviews

Amazon.com Review

Aldous Huxley wrote Brave New World in 1932, predicting a future of genetic control that now lies within our technological grasp. "While Huxley guessed right about the power we would gain over the process of reproduction, I think he was dead wrong when it came to predicting who would use the power," says geneticist Lee Silver. "It is individuals and couples who want to reproduce themselves in their own images, who want their children to be happy and successful, who will seize control of these new technologies." In Remaking Eden Silver shows how close we are to human genetic engineering, and how strong the forces are that are taking us there.

Review

No question is too speculative, remote or absurd for Silver, a Princeton University biologist and geneticist who teaches bioethics. He entertains even the wildest and most speculative notions because--as he argues persuasively--the future is already here. -- The New York Times Book Review, Paul Raeburn

See all Editorial Reviews

Product Details

• Hardcover: 317 pages
• Publisher: William Morrow; 1 edition (December 1, 1997)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0380974940
• ISBN-13: 978-0380974948
• Product Dimensions: 9.4 x 6 x 1.2 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1.2 pounds
• Average Customer Review: 3.7 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (6 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #1,986,662 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

More About the Author

Author of Remaking Eden, Challenging Nature, Mouse Genetics, and Genetics: from genes to genomes.

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

2 of 3 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Brave, wise, fascinating, fun, January 28, 1999

By A Customer

This review is from: Remaking Eden: Cloning and Beyond in a Brave New World (Hardcover)

Few nationally-known experts these days have the bravery to draw the inescapable but politically incorrect conclusion about human cloning: It is inevitable. The current U.S. ban will only encourage rogue states, corporations, and individuals to do it--they'd have a monopoly. In the face of that, the U.S. will be forced to rescind its ban. This book persuasively identifies what will likely occur as a result. I found reading this book to be a fascinating and fun experience.

2 of 3 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Thought-provoking, well-constructed, fascinating., January 18, 1998

By 

moretoastplease "bookmom" (Atherton, CA United States) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Remaking Eden: Cloning and Beyond in a Brave New World (Hardcover)

I really like this book. The author goes to great lengths to logically break down exactly what happens during the fertilization cycle, and how the fetus comes into being. Then he painstakingly discusses the ethical considerations.

There is far too much wildly emotional prose out there on this topic. Sometimes it seems like the commie-bashing of the 90's! This author gives a firm, logical foundation for some very rational, ethical choices and possibilities that loom in the future for all of us.

I think his best quote is that " what makes man special resides between his ears. We are fools if we don't know that." I agree. The futuristic scenarious are very interesting, and have made me realize that cloning will occur in the future and hey -- so what? :-)

3 of 5 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Plausible Reprogenetics., March 18, 1999

By A Customer

This review is from: Remaking Eden: Cloning and Beyond in a Brave New World (Hardcover)

In Remaking Eden, Lee M. Silver takes his readers into a very real future, compliments of "reprogenetics." The one difference between Silver's book, and other science fiction books, is that he gives plausible explanations of how the scenarios he presents can be accomplished with today's technology. Remaking Eden is a book for those who want an interesting look into a very possible future of the human race.