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The Book of Immortality: The Science, Belief, and Magic Behind Living Forever
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Bibliographic Detail
Publisher Scribner
Publication date August 20, 2013
Pages 402
Binding Hardcover
Book category Adult Non-Fiction
ISBN-13 9781439109427
ISBN-10 1439109427
Dimensions 1.50 by 6.25 by 9.25 in.
Weight 1.30 lbs.
Availability§ Publisher Out of Stock Indefinitely
Original list price $28.00
§As reported by publisher
Summaries and Reviews
Amazon.com description: Product Description: What have we not done to live forever? The critically acclaimed author of The Fruit Hunters—now an award-winning documentary film—weaves together religion, science, and mythology in a gripping exploration of the most universal of human obsessions: immortality.

What have we not done to live forever? Adam Leith Gollner, the critically acclaimed author of The Fruit Hunters, weaves together religion, science, and mythology in a gripping exploration of the most universal of human obsessions: immortality.

Raised without religion, Adam Leith Gollner was struck by mankind’s tireless efforts to cheat aging and death. In a narrative that pivots between profundity and hilarity, he brings us into the world of those whose lives are shaped by a belief in immortality. From a Jesuit priest on his deathbed to antiaging researchers at Harvard, Gollner— sorting truth from absurdity—canvasses religion and science for insight, along with an array of cults, myths, and fringe figures.

He journeys to David Copperfield’s archipelago in the Bahamas, where the magician claims to have found “a liquid that reverses genes.” He explores a cryonics facility, attends a costume party set in the year 2068 with a group of radical life-extensionists, and soaks in the transformative mineral waters at the Esalen Institute. Looking to history, Gollner visits St. Augustine, Florida, where Ponce de León is thought to have sought the Fountain of Youth.

Combining immersive reporting, rigorous research, and lyrical prose, Gollner charts the rise of longevity science from its alchemical beginnings to modern-day genetic interventions. He delves into the symbolic representation of eternal life and its connection to water. Interlaced throughout is a compelling meditation on the nature of belief, showing how every story we tell about immortality is a story about the meaning of death.

“Part journalist, part detective, part scientist.” (New York Post). Adam Leith Gollner has written a rollicking and revelatory examination of our age-old notion of living forever.

Editions
Hardcover
Book cover for 9781439109427
 
The price comparison is for this edition
from Scribner (August 20, 2013)
9781439109427 | details & prices | 402 pages | 6.25 × 9.25 × 1.50 in. | 1.30 lbs | List price $28.00
About: What have we not done to live forever?
Paperback
Book cover for 9781439109434
 
Reprint edition from Scribner (September 30, 2014)
9781439109434 | details & prices | 402 pages | 5.75 × 8.50 × 1.00 in. | 0.80 lbs | List price $16.00
About: A “wonderful” (Harper’s), “engrossing” (Parade) exploration of the most universal of human obsessions: immortality—from an author who is “part Mary Roach, part Joe Strummer of The Clash” (The Wall Street Journal).

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