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Lifespan: Why We Age―and Why We Don't Have To Hardcover – Illustrated, September 10, 2019
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“Brilliant and enthralling.” —The Wall Street Journal
A paradigm-shifting book from an acclaimed Harvard Medical School scientist and one of Time’s most influential people.
It’s a seemingly undeniable truth that aging is inevitable. But what if everything we’ve been taught to believe about aging is wrong? What if we could choose our lifespan?
In this groundbreaking book, Dr. David Sinclair, leading world authority on genetics and longevity, reveals a bold new theory for why we age. As he writes: “Aging is a disease, and that disease is treatable.”
This eye-opening and provocative work takes us to the frontlines of research that is pushing the boundaries on our perceived scientific limitations, revealing incredible breakthroughs—many from Dr. David Sinclair’s own lab at Harvard—that demonstrate how we can slow down, or even reverse, aging. The key is activating newly discovered vitality genes, the descendants of an ancient genetic survival circuit that is both the cause of aging and the key to reversing it. Recent experiments in genetic reprogramming suggest that in the near future we may not just be able to feel younger, but actually become younger.
Through a page-turning narrative, Dr. Sinclair invites you into the process of scientific discovery and reveals the emerging technologies and simple lifestyle changes—such as intermittent fasting, cold exposure, exercising with the right intensity, and eating less meat—that have been shown to help us live younger and healthier for longer. At once a roadmap for taking charge of our own health destiny and a bold new vision for the future of humankind, Lifespan will forever change the way we think about why we age and what we can do about it.
- Print length432 pages
- LanguageEnglish
- PublisherAtria Books
- Publication dateSeptember 10, 2019
- Dimensions6 x 1.3 x 9 inches
- ISBN-101501191977
- ISBN-13978-1501191978
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Editorial Reviews
Review
“Sinclair’s work on slowing the aging process, and even reversing some aspects of it, could lead to the most significant set of medical breakthroughs since the discovery of antibiotics nearly a century ago.” ― Sydney Morning Herald
"In this insightful and provocative book that asks questions about how we age, and whether humans can overcome decay and degeneration, Sinclair grapples with some of the most fundamental questions around the science of aging. The result is an elegant and exciting book that deserves to be read broadly and deeply." -- Siddhartha Mukherjee, Pulitzer Prize–winning and #1 New York Times bestselling author
“There are few books that have ever made me think about science in a fundamentally new way. David Sinclair’s book did that for me on aging. This is a book that anyone who ages must read.” -- Leroy Hood, PhD, professor at the California Institute of Technology, inventor, entrepreneur, member of all three US National Academies, and co-author of Code of Codes
“If you ever wondered how we age, if we can slow or even reverse aging, and if we can live a healthy 100 plus years, then David Sinclair’s new book Lifespan, which reads like a detective novel, will guide you through the science and the practical strategies to make your health span equal your lifespan, and make your lifespan long and vibrant.” -- Mark Hyman, MD, director of the Cleveland Clinic Center for Functional Medicine and #1 New York Times bestselling author
“This is the most visionary book about aging I have ever read. Seize the day—and seize this book!” -- Dean Ornish, MD, founder and president of the Preventative Medicine Research Institute and New York Times bestselling author of UnDo It!
“In Lifespan, David Sinclair eloquently tells us the secret everyone wants to know: how to live longer and age slower. Boldly weaving cutting-edge science with fascinating bits of history, sociology, and morality, Sinclair convinces us that it is not only possible to live beyond one hundred years, it is inevitable that we will be able to one day do so. If you are someone who wants to know how to beat aging, Lifespan is a must-read.” -- William W. Li, MD, New York Times bestselling author of Eat to Beat Disease
“For years, the aging field has been about vitamins, juicebars, and snake oil. Now, in a seminal book, Harvard Professor David Sinclair has changed the landscape: he has combined precise science, practical translation, and autobiography to produce a rare book that is insightful, inspiring, and informative. He has translated a wealth of molecular detail into a program that we can all use to live longer and healthier. This is part of the ongoing revolution in aging and chronic disease, and there is no one who is better suited to write such an authoritative book than David Sinclair. For anyone interested in understanding the aging process, living longer, and avoiding the diseases of aging, this is the book to read.” -- Dale Bredesen, MD, New York Times bestselling author of The End of Alzheimer's
“A visionary book from one of the most masterful longevity scientists of our time. Lifespan empowers us to change our health today while revealing a potential future when we live younger for longer.” -- Sara Gottfried, MD, New York Times bestselling author of The Hormone Cure
“Prepare to have your mind blown. You are holding in your hands the precious results of decades of work, as shared by Dr. David Sinclair, the rock star of aging and human longevity.” -- Dave Asprey, founder and CEO of Bulletproof and New York Times bestselling author of The Bulletproof Diet
“Imagine a world in which we can live long enough to meet not just our grandchildren, but our great-grandchildren. This is Sinclair’s vision for the future of humankind, a vision that looks to science, nature, history, and even politics to make the case that it is possible to live well into our hundreds. Lifespan is boldly leading the way.” -- Jason Fung, MD, author of The Diabetes Code and The Obesity Code
“I have had the pleasure of knowing Dr. David Sinclair and following his groundbreaking research into the causes and reversal of aging for many years. In Lifespan, David takes us on an entertainingly wild ride into both the author’s fascinating personal journey of discovery and his seminal research into why we age. But more importantly, he provides us with the everyday tools that we can all use to stop what he now calls ‘the disease of aging.’. . . You owe it to yourself and your loved ones to read and follow his advice, as I have for the last 15 years!” -- Steven R Gundry, MD, New York Times bestselling author of The Longevity Paradox and medical director of the International Heart and Lung Institute
“David Sinclair masterfully presents a bold vision of the future in which humanity is able to slow or reverse the aging process and live younger, healthier lives for longer. He engages the reader in a thorough examination of the science and emerging technologies that will enable humanity to achieve this vision.” -- Victor J. Dzau, MD, president of the US National Academy of Medicine and CEO of Duke University Medical Center
“Lifespan is the book we have been waiting for. It transcends everything we know about aging and longevity—a combination of brilliant scientific work, a pioneering mind, and the dream for a longer, healthier and happier life. Lifespan provides a vision for our future and the roadmap on how to get there, merging scientific breakthroughs and simple lifestyle changes to not only help us feel younger, but actually become younger.” -- Naomi Whittel, New York Times bestselling author of Glow15
“I have written about the brilliant work of David Sinclair for over fifteen years and have watched his life’s mission of using science to slow the scourge of old age and dying move from the outer edge to more mainstream biology (he’s still pushing boundaries!) as his careful work in the lab has steadily shed light on how the mechanisms of aging work in humans and in other organisms. In Lifespan, the full force of his optimism, humor, and soft-spoken eloquence as a storyteller-scientist come through. I was charmed and delighted by his skill at blending his own life’s narrative and others’ with clear and levelheaded explanations of some very complex and emerging science. I’m hoping we have David Sinclair with us and doing his science and writing books for another 500 years, give or take a century.” -- David Ewing Duncan, award-winning journalist, bestselling author, and curator of Arc Fusion
“Lifespan gives us hope for an extraordinary life. As the brilliant Dr. David Sinclair explains, aging is a disease, and that disease is treatable. This eye-opening book takes you to frontlines of incredible breakthroughs. What could be more valuable than an extended health lifespan? Enjoy this must read masterpiece!” -- Peter H. Diamandis, MD, New York Times bestselling author of Abundance and Bold
“David is a pioneer poised to change how we think about and understand aging.” -- Stephanie Lederman, CEO of the American Federation for Aging Research (AFAR), New York
“The most important message and priority of our time. For years to come, humanity will reflect on this book with awe and respect. Read it. . . . Your life depends on it.” -- Marc Hodosh, former owner & co-creator of TEDMED
“A tour de force. Sinclair’s book, and his life’s work ranks with humanity’s greatest contributions to helping enhance the joy and happiness of life, ranking with the works of Jenner, Pasteur, Salk, Locke, Gandhi, and Edison. Lifespan is a groundbreaking literary triptych that expertly combines the science of living longer, a practical checklist to unleash our inner potential for healthy longevity, and a brilliant philosophical, policy and ethical synthesis. A masterpiece.” -- Martine Rothblatt, founder, Chairwoman of the Board, and CEO of United Therapeutics and creator of SiriusXM Satellite Radio
“Stepping on the moon changed humanity. In Lifespan, Sinclair takes the ultimate step for humanity that will transform our lives beyond anything we could ever have imagined. If you can put your deepest beliefs aside, this will be the most important book you will ever read. The author is bold, the science is profound, and our future is here.” -- Henry Markram, PhD, professor at EPFL, Switzerland, director of the Blue Brain Project, and founder of Frontiers open-access journals
“An intellectually fascinating book with tantalizing insights on the most important issue about yours and everyone’s future.” -- Andrew Scott, PhD, professor of economics at London Business School and author of The 100-Year Life
“Throughout the book, the author’s enthusiasm jumps off the page.” ― Kirkus Reviews
“Sinclair’s dedication to understanding aging on both a microscopic and global scale is bound to shatter centuries of paradigms.” ― Scientific Inquirer
“The book, which surpasses everything we know about aging and life extension, has been written with a rich literary material of impressive depth and clarity to offer a deeper understanding of genetics and human longevity research.” ― Wall Street Pit
“Brilliant and enthralling." —Wall Street Journal
About the Author
Matthew LaPlante is an associate professor of journalistic writing at Utah State University, where he teaches news reporting and feature writing. A former US Navy intelligence specialist and Middle East war correspondent, he is the author of Superlative: The Biology of Extremes and the cowriter of multiple other books on the intersection of science and society. He lives in Salt Lake City and skis in Big Cottonwood Canyon. To learn more, visit MDLaPlante.com and follow him on Twitter @MDLaPlante.
Excerpt. © Reprinted by permission. All rights reserved.
Product details
- Publisher : Atria Books; Illustrated edition (September 10, 2019)
- Language : English
- Hardcover : 432 pages
- ISBN-10 : 1501191977
- ISBN-13 : 978-1501191978
- Item Weight : 1.35 pounds
- Dimensions : 6 x 1.3 x 9 inches
- Best Sellers Rank: #2,387 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)
- #1 in Genetics (Books)
- #2 in Genetic Health
- #18 in Longevity
- Customer Reviews:
About the author

David A. Sinclair, Ph.D., A.O. is one of the world’s most famous and influential scientists, known for his work on controlling the aging process. He is a tenured Professor at Harvard Medical School and TIME magazine named him “one of the 100 most influential people in the world” (2014) and among the “Top 50 People in Healthcare” (2018). His newsletter is at www.lifespanbook.com and you can follow him on Twitter @davidasinclair or IG at davidsinclairphd. He has a top healthcare podcast series called Lifespan.
David is on the board of directors of the American Federation for Aging Research and has received more than thirty-five awards for his research and is an inventor on 40 patents. Dr. Sinclair has been featured on The Joe Rogan Experience, 60 Minutes, a Barbara Walters special, The Today Show, Good Morning America, The Wall Street Journal, The New York Times, Fortune, and Newsweek, among others.
After thirty years of searching for truths about human biology, David is in a unique position. If you were to visit him in Boston, you’d most likely find him hanging out in his lab at Harvard Medical School, where he's a professor in the Department of Genetics and CoDirector of the Paul F. Glenn Center for Biological Mechanisms of Aging Research. He also runs a sister lab at his alma mater, the University of New South Wales in Sydney. In his labs, teams of brilliant students and PhDs have both accelerated and reversed aging in model organisms and have been responsible for some of the most cited research in the field, published in some of the world’s top scientific journals. He is also a cofounder of the journal Aging, which provides space to other scientists to publish their research on one of the most challenging and exciting questions of our time. He's also a cofounder of the Academy for Health and Lifespan Research, a group of the top twenty researchers in aging worldwide.
In trying to make practical use of his discoveries, he has helped start a number of biotechnology companies and sits as chair of the scientific boards of advisers of several others. These companies work with hundreds of leading academics in scientific areas ranging from the origin of life to genomics to pharmaceuticals. He is, of course, aware of his own lab’s discoveries years before they are made public, but through these associations, he is also aware of many other transformational discoveries ahead of time, sometimes a decade ahead.
Having received the equivalent of a knighthood in Australia and taken on the role of an ambassador (hence the AO at the end of his name), he's been spending quite a bit of his time briefing political and business leaders around the world about the ways our understanding of aging is changing—and what that means for humanity going forward.
David is committed to turning key discoveries into medicines and technologies that help the world. He is involved in a variety of activities beyond being an academic including being a founder, equity owner, adviser, member of the board of directors, consultant, investor, collaborator with, and inventor on patents licensed to companies working to improve the human condition or national security. For an updated list of activities, see https://genetics.med.harvard.edu/sinclair/.
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Reviewed in the United States on April 20, 2023
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This is one of the most important books that I’ve read in the past decade. I’ve been excited about scientific progress against aging for the past 40 years, and have been taking supplements of various kinds since I was in my 20’s. David Sinclair’s book details most of the real progress in the field, with the best examples coming rather recently – in the past few years. Sinclair exudes optimism, which matches my own natural tendency.
As a narrative, the book succeeds in bringing the reader to an understanding of David’s initial motivation in his field, using the story of his grandmother Vera’s lifelong vitality giving way to decline and, ultimately, death. The reader also gets an historical retracing of the road to knowledge of telomeres, CRSPR, Sirtuins, and cell reprogramming. Did you know that there were sharks that have had life spans measured to have exceeded 500 years?
Twice, while in bed reading the book late at night, I bolted upright when a new fact was revealed. The first wake-up was an anecdote in the book about one of Sinclair’s researchers coming to him for help on an issue with the young man’s mother. Seems she had started having menstrual periods again after starting to take a supplement (NMN, I think) that many on David’s research team were taking themselves. Another shock was hearing of the reprogramming of optic tissue cells, using 3 of the 4 activators known to enable an adult cell to become a pluripotent stem cell. The 3 activators were CRSPR’d into the DNA of the receiving tissue, along with an activation mechanism that depends on receiving a certain antibiotic. So, dosage modulated regeneration of Optic nerve tissue was achieved in rats. That fact opens up the possibility of not only slowing or stopping aging, but actually reversing it.
The first half of this book covers the history and amazing scientific discoveries, but unfortunately the second half oozes with virtue signaling as it reveals David to be an altruistic collectivist with all manner of political prescriptions he thinks are needed to save humanity from itself – from gun control to climate activism. I suppose it is inevitable that the progressive bubble of an academic environment blinds its inhabitants by disallowing any political disagreement. However, it made me come to question Sinclair’s own scientific rigor. If he hasn’t read of the hiding of temperature data, and suspiciously always lower “adjustments” to past temperature records which is central to the global warming hoax, what alternative aging hypotheses might he be ignoring as well?
I dug into this a bit, after remembering that GlaxoSmithKline spent nearly a billion dollars back in 2008 for one of David’s startups working on Sirtuins (Sirtris). Back then, I was hoping that we’d see new anti-aging pharmaceuticals within a decade. Glaxo shut down the unit in 2013. That sounds ominous, right? But, comments on Glaxo’s page say that core researchers were offered positions in other parts of the company, and that Glaxo still thought the Sirtuin drug candidates were valuable.
In the book’s “Cast of Characters”, it is stated that Elizabeth Blackburn was “controversially dismissed” from Bush’s Council on Bioethics “allegedly for her advocacy of stem cell research and politics-free scientific inquiry.” What’s missing from this statement is that said advocacy was for “embryonic stem cell research”.
Bush’s constituency believed that this meant using human lives (albeit very young lives) for research, and this constituency did not want their tax money to pay for what they considered an immoral act. Again, the book seems to be using the material to make political jabs. Perhaps Dr Sinclair doesn’t realize this, perhaps he does.
Much is also made in the book’s second half about trying to guarantee that anti-aging therapies would be made available to all, regardless of cost. I would hope that the examples of pricing in the space, auto, and computer industries show how capitalist countries succeed in bringing costs down for everyone, without government mandates. Space Shuttles used to cost roughly $20,000/kg for orbital flights. SpaceX has brought that cost down to around $2,000/kg. It is still way too expensive for the average American tourist. However, cars were once only affordable to the wealthy. Henry Ford employed capital to force down prices, extending affordability to the middle class.
Prices start out high, which enables start-ups to raise capital. Then as volume goes up, unit costs are driven lower by competition. That’s how we got to 256GB USB sticks for $32. I once paid $10,000 for 0.004% of that much space. Drug prices would be driven down faster if the FDA only mandated safety testing, instead of both safety and efficacy. If drugs are guaranteed by the FDA to be safe, then we consumers should be allowed to try anything we want. Companies that want more market share would pay for efficacy trials, the results of which could be used in advertising. Drug development costs/prices might drop by 90% in that kind of market. Sure would cut the wait time for anti-aging therapies.
To those who say this is playing God: we've been doing that a long time. Our kind's quasi-divine creativity----"made in the image of God," according to the Bible---has already created many miracles; we've put men on the moon, eliminated smallpox, and brought ourselves up from the caves, by human ingenuity. To deny our own further self-improvement, would be the truly unnatural thing. And he backs this view up with some unexpected and startling economic and hard-nosed money views that persuade me he's right: aging we should see as a disease, that not only can be treated and cured---but must be, if we are going to survive as a species on this increasingly crowded and politically dangerous planet. The view looks a bit socialistic to my conservative American brain, but there's no going back to the caves---or so we hope.
A game-changer, but will it be in time? Our clock, individually and collectively, is ticking.
Top reviews from other countries

I think a typical scientist would and should stop right there; for science does not concern itself with morality but with pure knowledge whether constructive or destructive. Nonetheless, Dr Sinclair goes on to debate the real and political consequences of people living, if not forever, certainly much longer than they do now. To me, this is where the book rapidly goes down hill. Dr Sinclair knows there will be serious repercussions: an increase in population; a greater demand for resources; more pollution; more carbon emissions; etc, etc. He says that alongside the big increase in population in the 1800's was a huge increase in the standard of sanitation and health as though it were causative - more people lead to more benefits. He thinks that GMO and foods modified by other technologies will provide the solution to feeding the ever-increasing numbers of mouths and gets irritated when some people have the temerity to question their safety. Also, because he would be content to work doing his interesting research in his lab for the next 50 years, it does not mean a miner would like to spend another 50 digging coal.
Despite Dr Sinclair's faith in the ingenuity of man, there are times when i sense he is trying to convince himself of his utopian vision rather than the reader. Living to infinity is not the be all and end all; living a healthy life is more important, whether one lives to 70 or 90.
At some point I will re-read the first half of the book - which I enjoyed - but not the second. I must be only part Luddite.

Richard Dawkins touched on why we would inherit genes that fail as we age: essentially we reproduce before we suffer from these age-related ailments, and so natural selection has not filtered it out as it presumably has young man/woman ailments that would kill off the would-be reproducer.
The book uses scientific terms and explanations and so some reading on physiology may be beneficial alongside this book. Note taking is a must if you're wanting to retain and be able to explain the contents.
The reason I've given it 3 out of 5 stars is the completely lack of concern over the animals the author and his colleagues tested on. I know its commonplace (though this doesn't make it right) but there is not even any acknowledgement from the author that this is cruel behaviour. He will talk about how he'll age mice prematurely (yes fascinating but cruel), starve them, dissect them prior to natural death, etc. He does comment on how easy it is to buy mice to test on, though. Well, as long as subjecting unlucky animals to torture is convenient!



Basically, it puts forwards a disease model of aging. This is a controversial and certainly a lot of people would not agree with it, but the evidence is reviewed in a scientific manner which I found quite compelling. However, I would say the narrative goes considerably beyond the evidence, and states things as fact which are yet to be established. The problem is that as yet there are no examples of individuals adding huge amounts of years to their lives, and it will take a long time to generate the kind of evidence required for that.
So although I enjoyed this book immensely, and the author is a published scientist rather than a journalist (or an influencer), I am deducting one star from the rating because I do not think we quite have the evidence base to back up some of the claims made. I also found the book trailed off badly as it went on, where the author started speculating about the social and political impact of increased life spans which of course may not happen. No problem with a little bit of this, but it takes up most of the second half of the book, which was far too much and I found it a bit of a slog to get to the end. Like one of the other reviewers, I will most likely re-read the first half, but definitely not the second.