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Since the ancient Egyptians, humans have
been obsessed with the idea of transforming their bodies
and living forever. Now science is circling ever closer
to that goal. Are we "playing God?" Introducing
a "Brave New World?" Or are we creating an ultrahuman
Nirvana? In Rapture, Brian Alexander takes readers
into the surprising stories behind cloning, stem cells,
miracle drugs, and genetic engineering to show how the battle
for the human soul is playing out in the broader culture
-- and how the outcome will affect each and every one of
us.
In Rapture, we meet the Extropians,
transhumanists, and the other futurist subcultures weaned
on science fiction and an unalloyed belief in the future.
That belief has spread so widely that ideas formerly relegated
to the fringe are now seeping into the mainstream. Indeed,
some of the world's most respected scientists are beginning
to speak openly about genetically engineering people and
rebuilding human bodies. The two sides are merging.
Rapture traces the fascinating trajectories
of these movements, as well as the major players within
them. The Dickensian cast of characters includes William
Haseltine, a renowned scientist, corporate CEO, and widely
acknowledged father of regenerative medicine; Durk Pearson,
an anti-aging guru who downs bucketfuls of vitamins in the
hopes of staving off death; and Michael West, the former
fundamentalist Christian and founder of ACT, the company
that reportedly cloned the first human cell. There's Deeda
Blair, a Washington socialite and dealmaker who helped start
a new biotech boom. And finally, John Sparling, an Arizona
billionaire who has mounted his own campaign to call down
the biotech "rapture."
As Alexander brilliantly documents, this
motley crew is in part being united by the force of the
opposition: a burgeoning bio-Luddite movement whose foot
soldiers -- a strange coalition of conservative Republicans,
the Christian right, and the Greens -- predict impending
doom should we become adherents of the new bio-utopian faith.
In this utterly original blend of popular
culture and science, Alexander shows how the biotech agenda
has come to be seen as both salvation and heresy. Biotech
is now a religion in its own right. Sometimes irreverent,
sometimes shocking, always entertaining, Rapture
explores how we got here -- and why we'll go where nobody
thought we could.
Brian Alexander was a contributing editor
for biotechnology at Wired magazine. He has written
for the New York Times magazine, Science,
Esquire, Outside, and many other magazines
and newspapers.
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