{"product_id":"mortal-coil-david-boyd-haycock-9780300158250","title":"Mortal Coil: A Short History of Living Longer","description":"\u003cp\u003e\u003cb\u003eA highly engaging history of humankind's preoccupation with longevity, from 1600 to the present day\u003c\/b\u003e \u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e An obsession with perpetual youth may seem a particularly modern phenomenon, but it is a goal that western scientists and philosophers have aspired to (and worked towards) for the last four hundred years.\u003cp\u003e\u003ci\u003eMortal Coil \u003c\/i\u003eexplores the medical, scientific, and philosophical theories behind the quest for the prolongation of human life. It was a conundrum that intrigued Sir Francis Bacon and underpinned the scientific revolution; ideas of ultimate perfectibility, indefinite progress, and worldly rather than heavenly immortality fed directly into the spirit of the Enlightenment and even further into the nineteenth and twentieth centuries. In today's world of genetic research, cryonics, and nanotechnology, we still seek the same elusive philosopher's stone.\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eFrom Adam and Eve to human cloning and designer babies, from seventeenth-century lifestyle guides to science fiction, Haycock's gripping story introduces an array of fascinating individuals--René Descartes, Benjamin Franklin, Jonathan Swift, Charles Darwin, and Sigmund Freud as well as a score of unknown figures. Full of extraordinary stories and valuable insights, this is a curious, witty, and captivating exploration into our unceasing desire to live forever.\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003eAuthor:\u003c\/b\u003e David Boyd Haycock\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003eISBN-10:\u003c\/b\u003e 0300158254\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003eISBN-13:\u003c\/b\u003e 9780300158250\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003ePublisher:\u003c\/b\u003e Yale University Press\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003eLanguage:\u003c\/b\u003e English\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003ePublished:\u003c\/b\u003e 10\/01\/2009\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003ePages:\u003c\/b\u003e 320\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003eFormat:\u003c\/b\u003e Paperback\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003eWeight:\u003c\/b\u003e 0.89lbs\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003eSize:\u003c\/b\u003e 8.16h x 5.04w x 1.06d","brand":"David Boyd Haycock","offers":[{"title":"Paperback","offer_id":48447612256511,"sku":"9780300158250","price":22.0,"currency_code":"USD","in_stock":false}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0662\/2982\/9887\/files\/img_ed2a0276-45d2-4fae-9aba-148df2e07bf9.jpg?v=1777233855","url":"https:\/\/www.whiterainbookhouse.com\/products\/mortal-coil-david-boyd-haycock-9780300158250","provider":"WR Book House","version":"1.0","type":"link"}