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Title: Remaking Eden by Lee Silver ISBN: 0-380-79243-5 Publisher: Avon Pub. Date: 01 October, 1998 Format: Paperback Volumes: 1 List Price(USD): $14.95 |
Average Customer Rating: 3.89 (9 reviews)
Rating: 5
Summary: A must-read for everyone!
Comment: This book is an excellent read for anyone with an interest in reproductive technologies. I submit that it is important for everyone as the issues in the book are rapidly becoming less science-fiction and more reality. Cloning and genetic selection are especially important. Both positive and negative scenarios resulting from the use of these and other technologies are presented. They may seem far-fetched at times but nonetheless possible.
I had the privilege of taking Prof. Silver's class at Princeton and listen to him lecture on this book and others on the subject, and I am so glad that I did.
Right now most people are terrified of the unknown future of cloning, genetic engineering, and other technologies. Please, read this book before making up your mind!
The best part about this book is that it does not get too bogged down in technical details. A non-scientist can read it and understand, but someone who knows more about the scientific aspects can still learn from it. There's something for everyone!
Rating: 5
Summary: Brilliant in every way
Comment: With the announcement today of the completion of mapping of the human genome, this book takes on particular importance. The book was published in 1997, and as further evidence of the technological hyperdrive of the 21st century and the incredible advances in sequencing technology since 1997, the author predicts on page 244 that the Human Genome Project would take 23 more years, and be completed by 2020!
The book is excellent, for the author gives brilliant arguments both supporting genetic technologies and countering many that don't. In addition, the author discusses possibilities in reproductive technologies that may be unknown to a reader, like myself, who is not an expert in embryology. For example, he discusses the occurrence (although rare) of natural-born chimeric human beings, who arose from the fusion of two embryos that resulted from the fertilization of two eggs that had been ovulated simultaneously by their mother. Another example discussed is the possibility of a fertilized egg winding up in the peritoneal cavity (in the abdomen essentially). This example was discussed in the context of whether indeed a man could carry a pregnancy.
Some of the other interesting arguments and discussions in the book include: 1. When addressing the assertion that it is unfair for only the wealthy to take advantage of genetic technologies for enhancing their progeny, the author agrees that it is, but he then states correctly that a society that accepts the right of wealthy parents to provide their children with a top-notch private education cannot use "unfairness" as a reason for denying the use of genetic technologies. 2. His discussion of the status of the embryo as human life, which he argues, brilliantly, is not. "If a human life can begin in the absence of conception" he says, "then it is scientifically invalid to say that conception must mark the beginning of each human life. It is as simple as that". 3. The discussion of the history of in vitro fertilization, the ethical issues surrounding it, and the technologies needed to bring it about. The author regards IVF as a pivotal point in history, in which humans took charge of their reproductive destiny. 4. The discussion of cloning, elaborating naturally on the cloning of Dolly the sheep. He states that the cloning of Dolly "broke the technological barrier" and that there is "no reason to expect that the technology couldn't be transferred to human cells." Recent experiments in the last few months however have cast doubt on the ability to do cloning of primates, and so human cloning could therefore be problematic. The author though counters very successfully the arguments against the practice of human cloning.
The author has a refreshing optimism throughout the book, and he remains confident in the human ability to both understand the world and change it with proven and safe technologies. In light of the completion of the mapping of the human genome, his optimism is certainly justified. The technologies discussed in this book, coupled with the information obtained from the complete human genome, promise an incredibly interesting future for biology. Both the author and the individuals behind the human genome project are excellent examples of the ingenuity and mental discipline of the human species.
Rating: 5
Summary: Educational - Big on concepts, little on factoids
Comment: I purchased this book expecting an opinionated book on biotechnology, not sure what stance the author took. Quickly I realized he took the stance of a respectable scientist.What truly made this book great was that he educated people. Usually education will take away the majority of controversy on any subject. Silver clearly demystifies genetic engineering and shows how future situations will become an everyday part of our lives. Topics ranging from how the controversy of abortion is affected by the fact that 75 percent of all fertilized eggs will never be born, to how sensations of pain and thought don't occur because formation on the majority of synapses don't occur until the 25th week. His thorough explanations of how even a clone will be no different then any other person with its own thoughts and opinions, raised in a kind and loving family. Silver clears up misconceptions in science and society. His hypothetical situations gives this science book more pizazz and an insight into the future.
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Title: Redesigning Humans: Our Inevitable Genetic Future by Gregory Stock ISBN: 061806026X Publisher: Houghton Mifflin Co Pub. Date: 15 June, 2002 List Price(USD): $24.00 |
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Title: Our Posthuman Future: Consequences of the Biotechnology Revolution by Francis Fukuyama ISBN: 0312421710 Publisher: Picador USA Pub. Date: 01 May, 2003 List Price(USD): $14.00 |
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Title: Enough: Staying Human in an Engineered Age by Bill McKibben ISBN: 0805070966 Publisher: Times Books Pub. Date: 02 April, 2003 List Price(USD): $25.00 |
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Title: Life, Liberty and the Defense of Dignity: The Challenge for Bioethics by Leon R. Kass ISBN: 1893554554 Publisher: Encounter Books Pub. Date: September, 2002 List Price(USD): $26.95 |
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Title: The Perfect Baby: Parenthood in the New World of Cloning and Genetics by Glenn McGee ISBN: 0847697592 Publisher: Rowman & Littlefield Publishing (via NBN) Pub. Date: 01 November, 2000 List Price(USD): $16.95 |
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