Experimental Man: What One Man's Body Reveals about His Future, Your Health, and Our Toxic World 1st Edition

by David Ewing Duncan (Author)

15 ratings

ISBN-13: 978-1620458211

ISBN-10: 1620458217

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Bestselling author David Ewing Duncan takes the ultimate high-tech medical exam, investigating the future impact of what's hidden deep inside all of us
David Ewing Duncan takes ""guinea pig"" journalism to the cutting edge of science, building on award-winning articles he wrote for Wired and National Geographic, in which he was tested for hundreds of chemicals and genes associated with disease, emotions, and other traits. Expanding on these tests, he examines his genes, environment, brain, and body, exploring what they reveal about his and his family's future health, traits, and ancestry, as well as the profound impact of this new self-knowledge on what it means to be human.
David Ewing Duncan (San Francisco, CA) is the Chief Correspondent of public radio's Biotech Nation and a frequent commentator on NPR's Morning Edition. He is a contributing editor to Portfolio, Discover, and Wired and a columnist for Portfolio. His books include the international bestseller Calendar: Humanity's Epic Struggle to Determine a True and Accurate Year (978-0-380-79324-2). He is a former special producer and correspondent for ABC's Nightline, and appears regularly on CNN and programs such as Today and Good Morning America.

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Editorial Reviews

From the Back Cover

""David Ewing Duncan takes us on a deep, exhilarating dive into the hidden worlds of being human; both an erudite guide and an amazingly willing lab rat, Duncan has written a book that looks inward and outward at the same time: inward to the mysteries of the self, and outward to the horizon of our species' extraordinary, and sometimes alarming, future."" -- Steven Johnson author of The Invention of Air

""Experimental is one of those rare books that, as soon as you pick it up, you say to yourself, why didn't I think of that? David Ewing Duncan has come up with a simple but elegant conceit that yields a rich trove of information and insight about how we live now."" -- Michael Pollan author of The Omnivore's Dilemma

""Twenty years from now, David Duncan's pioneering grand experiment will become commonplace. Duncan is measuring how both genes and environmental chemicals affect our health by testing his own body. His self-experiment will inform, guide, and inspire the millions who will follow him in the great quest for truly personalized medicine. It's not often you get to read a book mailed back from the future, but the one you hold is just that: news from the year 2029."" -- Kevin Kelly, Senior Maverick at Wired and author of New Rules for the New Economy

""David Ewing Duncan may be the most thoroughly tested healthy human on the planet. He hits the mark with this bold journey into the emerging era of high-tech genomics and medicine for healthy people. After having his body poked and probed in every way, he pulls no punches in separating hype from reality, describing what this new knowledge has (and has not) meant for him, and conveying how these developments will reshape the way we see ourselves. Experimental Man is brilliant, provocative, timely . . . and a wonderful read."" -- Gregory Stock, PhD, author of Redesigning Humans

""Experimental Man dares to ask 'Who am I?' in a way it's never been asked before. In that sense, it will change the way we construct the story of our self, blending biological diagnostics in with the now-familiar prisms of personal history and psychology. Through this new lens, we are all a Frankenstein."" -- Po Bronson, author of the #1 New York Times bestseller What Should I Do with My Life?

About the Author

DAVID EWING DUNCAN is the Chief Correspondent on public radio's Biotech Nation and a commentator on NPR's Morning Edition. He's a contributing editor and columnist for Conde Nast Portfolio, and a former contributing editor for Discover and Wired. He was a freelance producer and correspondent for ABC's Nightline and a correspondent with NOVA. He has written for National Geographic, Fortune, the Atlantic, Harper's, and many others. He's the author of several books, including Calendar, an international bestseller published in 19 languages. He is the Director of the Center for Life Science Policy at UC Berkeley and is a sought-after speaker. He has won numerous awards, including an AAAS Science Journalism Award.

Product details

Publisher : Wiley; 1st edition (February 1, 2009)
Language : English
Paperback : 384 pages
ISBN-10 : 1620458217
ISBN-13 : 978-1620458211
Item Weight : 1.3 pounds
Dimensions : 6.14 x 0.85 x 9.21 inches

Best Sellers Rank: #4,563,870 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)
- #228 in Health Risk Assessment (Books)
- #2,808 in Anatomy & Physiology (Books)

Customer Reviews:
15 ratings

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Chris Sewell

A fantastic first step into actualizing the potentials of 21st century Medicine.

Reviewed in the United States on December 7, 2014

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Great read. Note that the information about Resveratrol mentions SRT501, which was pulled by the manufacturer during clinical trials after the book was published. However, as a supplement Resveratrol was worth every penny. The book helps set the stage for a lot of the studies that have been done since, which have proved how polluted our bodies are, and how we are foolish to believe that they can clear out all of the toxins they encounter. So trying to encounter less is the wise sustainable choice. There is a website that will evaluate genomic data, like that gathered from a 23andMe SNP sequencing ($99) at https://www.promethease.com/ondemandlicense. It requires a small donation ($5+) to have them do an analysis. Remember if you find anything funky, don't take it to heart, until after you've discussed it with your family Doctor, or a genetics counselor. My Genetics showed multiple variants for Adult Onset Diabetes (type 2). Getting blood tests, which showed it was true, was a real heads up. So I was able to make changes in my diet and supplement to bring my blood glucose level down to within normal range.

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Eric Jain

Experimental vs Actionable Man

Reviewed in the United States on August 30, 2018

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Ten years on, the amount of health data a consumer can obtain at reasonable cost has increased considerably: Complete genome sequencing can now be done for under $1K, and your microbiome can be sampled for under $100. Yet getting anything useful out of all this data remains as much of a challenge as it was for the author then. I hope the author will revisit this field again in the future!

One person found this helpful

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Amazon Customer

Informative Travelogue of Medical Tests

Reviewed in the United States on August 27, 2012

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This book takes you thru the authros journey of obtaining and understanding many different medical tests-mostly the newer genetic tests. In this regard, it provides a lot of information about what tests are available and what to expect from them. Nonetheless this book is tediously long and doesnt get to make many points other then the authors life was little changes despite the many tests he took. In addition, this book offer little guidance for people seeking some of these newer tests. I also wasnt crazy by the lack of orgnaization of the material. The author should have shortened the book and focused more on helping others for it reads almost like a travelogue thru a bunch of new and unusual medical tests.

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Robert

A Fantastic Voyage and A Must Read

Reviewed in the United States on March 13, 2009

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In David Ewing Duncan's new book, "The Experimental Man", he takes us on an adventure through his own body that a mere decade ago would have been seen as science fiction, not science fact. A modern "Fantastic Voyage", we travel with David through a variety of tests that explores who we are and where are going.

Most people by now have heard an advertisement for fully body scans, genetic testing for markers, or genetic testing for family lineage. David Ewing Duncan has obviously decided to take this not just a few steps further, but leagues in the future-present and doing what many would be fearful of doing, taking the world along for the ride.

Not just a book of medical tests, medical capabilities, or the effects of the world on our bodies, this is a masterly crafted story of one man's odyssey of medically-enhanced self-discovery.

If you a wondering "Should I buy this or not?" stop hesitating. David Ewing Duncan's book is a must read and belongs on everyone's book shelf and will soon be the topic of discussion at every water cooler and social gathering.

9 people found this helpful

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D. Reynolds

A different perspective

Reviewed in the United States on June 25, 2009

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The perspective of the human at a genomic level based on data from contemporary analysis began with sequenced DNA clues to health. Then the interaction with environmental toxins at a cellular level was considered. The progression led to a consideration of the brain and mental states. There was an emphasis on the not-yet-there aspect of the techniques and their application to these various levels, particularly at a single individual level. The author is a good writer. Yet, some areas of the book were dull reading because of the terse technical information. All in all a good read.

One person found this helpful

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Saul Kravitz

So many tests, so little actionable information

Reviewed in the United States on May 31, 2010

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This could have been a much shorter book. What do you learn by acquiring lots of data from many different modalities on a healthy individual? Not much. Certainly very little that is actionable beyond things that are well known -- he should watch his weight and his diet. The most insightful point in the book pertains to the author's brother who led an incredibly active life before being sidelined by a debilitating disease. If his parents had known through, say, genetic testing, that he would break lots of bones, would they have taken away the activities that gave him the most pleasure in life? For the most part, this book is a pretty good advertisement for ignorance being bliss.

9 people found this helpful

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Jane Metcalfe

Amazing project, well researched and intriguing

Reviewed in the United States on February 20, 2015

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Amazing project, well researched and thorough. If you're interested in the quantified self movement, or in simply understanding what the state of personal health measurement is, this book is for you. Although written in 2008 or 2009, it's a wonderful introduction and overview, and the companion website is still up and relevant. Duncan is a fantastic writer who identifies all the factors impacting one's health.

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Joel Dudley

A seminal work

Reviewed in the United States on September 12, 2009

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Excellent book that mixes intelligent story telling that offers a layman's peek into the future world of personalized and genomic medicine. The author brings a great human element to the complex molecular world of the human body. I also like the excellent website that accompanies the book, which brings a participatory element to the Experimental Man experience.

One person found this helpful

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Top reviews from other countries

Lydia

Only for the rich and connected...

Reviewed in Canada on June 29, 2013

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This was slightly interesting but completely impractical for the everyday person. Openingly written and acknowledged is many of these tests were done on the author for the sake of this book. The tests and access to the information, and medical personnel are NOT accessable by anyone. Also the cost is openingly claimed to be prohibitive as well as many tests open up a whole new can of worms that cause more questions than answers. Even the author would not pay for his virtual colonoscopy because it would be too much. He'll wait for his insurance company to pay for it. I think he could have a long wait. (The majority of this book addresses genes and DNA testing, and brain mapping. Only a few pages cover routine tests such as MRIs)
I am an avid reader, rarely turning down an opportunity to read anything but this book was dry, too long, in certain areas in-complete, and did not hold my attention. If you are interested in finding out what and how your genes dictate how you react to everything I think a google search would be more useful.

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Experimental Man: What One Man's Body Reveals about His Future, Your Health, and Our Toxic World 1st Edition

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