9 replies to this topic

[John Schloendorn]

A friend of mine asked me if I knew a good book to introduce the non-life-scientist to the current scientific prospects of curing aging. Being a specialized geek, I'm a bit at a loss. I can see that there's quite a few suitable-looking books out there at amazon. Which one would you recommend?

[Lazarus Long]

What about the book we just published?

The Scientific Conquest of Death

http://www.amazon.co...3&link_code=as1

[Bruce Klein]

As an introduction, Shannon Vyff's essay within the book "The Scientific Conquest of Death" is helpful in sharing with a general audience the importance of life extension and immortality.


Confessions of a Proselytizing Immortalist "Why Immortality? Isn’t that selfish? Doesn’t God/fate/evolution tell us when to die? -- I hear this all the time shortly after I meet people-- at church, on vacation, in buses, in line at the grocery store, at parties, at family gatherings--It all begins like a perfectly normal conversation with questions of the weather, or what the person has been doing for the day..."


http://www.imminst.org/book1

[John Schloendorn]

Well thanks, of course I am aware of that and it was among the first things I mentioned to him. But he asked specifically for a book focused on the biomedical prospects of curing aging. I take it that imminst book's scope is much more diverse.

[Bruce Klein]

Mike West's, "Immortal Cell"

[reason]

Gina Smith's The Genomic Age is focused on the beginner (and genetics, but it has a chapter on longevity and anti-aging research). I put up an except recently as an essay:

http://www.longevity...1&article_id=22

Kurzweil's Fantastic Voyage is good to give to a health nut to get them thinking about longevity / anti-aging research. I put up an except for that too.

http://www.longevity...1&article_id=21

I second the Immortal Cell, though it's a bit out of date now. Very on topic, though. Here's a list of some more books that you might find useful:

http://www.fightagin...ives/000177.php

Reason
Founder, Longevity Meme
reason@longevitymeme.org
http://www.longevitymeme.org

[kevin]

Greg Stock's "Redesigning Humans" is a fantastic book with a great chapter on Longevity.. it's a little focused on germ-line engineering

Steve Austad's "Why We Age" is good for background.

[John Doe]

Greg Stock's "Redesigning Humans" is a fantastic book with a great chapter on Longevity..  it's a little focused on germ-line engineering 

Steve Austad's "Why We Age"  is good for background.

Austad's book is excellent!

Another good book for beginners, albeit with a more skeptical tone, is Merchants of Immortality by Stephen Hall.

[JMorgan]

I bought "The Immortal Cell" but haven't had a chance to read it yet. How much does the book cover his religious beliefs? I have the difficult task of finding a book that my father would read. He is a conservative Baptist minister. I haven't spoken to him about my views on anything other than stem cells yet, and he at least seems open regarding that. (People like Nancy Reagan have helped I think. The more conservatives that support this, the better off we are.)

[ddhewitt]

Well thanks, of course I am aware of that and it was among the first things I mentioned to him. But he asked specifically for a book focused on the biomedical prospects of curing aging. I take it that imminst book's scope is much more diverse.

Several good books have been recommended in this thread.

I would like to add two. One that is general which is Kurzweil's "Fantastic Voyage".

The second one is more in depth but excellent is Michael Fossel's "Cells, Aging and Human Disease"

Duane