Sunday, May 8, 2011

"The Immortalization Commission: Science and the Strange Quest to Cheat Death," John Gray


...“The Immortalization Commission” is a fascinating piece of intellectual history, exploring the intersection of science, religion, mysticism and a kind of philosophical curiosity that made the early 20th century so much more intellectually dynamic, so much more open-minded and eclectic, so much more magical than either philosophy or science is today. If contemporary god-builders — seeking to stave off death with blue-green algae, Bikram yoga and cryogenics — are more crass and materialistic than those in Gray’s story, ultimately they fail to appreciate the same point: that life seems to get much of its meaning from the fact that it ends. --The Scientific Revolt Against Death, review of John Gray's The Immortalization Commission, The New York Times Book Review
You can read the entire review of John Gray's fascinating The Immortalization Commission: Science and the Strange Quest to Cheat Death in today's New York Times by clicking here. You can find out more about the book--and purchase a copy--by clicking here.

Thanks, Aaron, for sending this review my way.

Image: Getty Images, captions reads:The search for eternal life: Even Charles Darwin hedged his bets and attended a seance; found at The Daily Mail.

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