The Quest for Immortality

Separating fact from fiction, the authors distinguish between the quest to prolong life and the dream of living long lives while remaining independent and in good health. They offer an understanding of health, disease and ageing to maximize the length and quality of life.

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Two leading experts offer an antidote to the maximum-lifespan hype. A multi-billion-dollar industry today offers a bewildering array of herbs, vitamins, hormones, or lifestyle changes that are supposed to slow aging, prevent disease, and lengthen life. These "discoveries" are big news to the aging baby-boom generation. Unfortunately, the touted benefits of many of these treatments are either unproven, grossly exaggerated, or just plain false. S. Jay Olshansky and Bruce A. Carnes provide a comprehensive account of the real science of aging, from a historical overview of religious and philosophical thinking about aging and death, to the biology behind the changes we see in the mirror, to the promising but frightening future of genetic engineering. The Quest for Immortality demystifies the complex language and concepts of science, explains how to distinguish real science from media hype in order to help readers make informed health decisions, and offers a powerfully optimistic vision of aging and health in the twenty-first century.