The Price of Immortality: The Race to Live Forever

Journalist Ward (The Consequential Frontier) explores in this primer the idea that there is a time in the not-too-distant future when biotechnology will be able to keep people alive indefinitely. Obsession with longevity is nothing new, Ward notes, but as science has advanced, “immortalists were faced with a scenario most thought would never happen: they might be proved correct.” He interviews Neal VanDeRee, pastor of the Church of Perpetual Life, a religious organization that promotes the concept of immortality—VanDeRee plans to live until he’s 300—and offers an abbreviated history of the field of cryonics, or the freezing of newly dead individuals with the belief that they can be unfrozen and reanimated once medical technology to do so exists. He also touches on the possibility that stem-cell and gene therapy might reverse aging, that nanotechnology could defeat diseases, and the prospect of being able to upload human consciousness to computers. In the end though, Ward concludes that “suffering is so much worse than dying,” and that there are prevailing quality-of-life healthcare issues that must be addressed before immortality is made a prevailing concern. The writing is vivid and the author favors breadth over depth, making this a great intro to the topic, though it likely won’t be as satisfying for those with some familiarity with the ideas and players. Those looking to get started on living forever would do well to begin here. (Apr.)