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59
/100
I Index Overall Rating
Readers
74/100Critics
44/100Scholars
Author:
Steven Johnson
Publisher:
Riverhead Books
Date:
May 11, 2021
As a species, humans have doubled their life expectancy in one hundred years. Medical breakthroughs, public health institutions, rising standards of living, and the other advances of modern life have given each person about 20,000 extra days on average. This book attempts to help the reader understand where that progress came from and what forces keep people alive longer.
What The Reviewers Say
It’s been a long time since the history of technology has been recounted as the triumph of plucky heroes, and Johnson’s stories reflect today’s more sophisticated understanding.
Blending scientific examples with medical discoveries, the narrative remains engaging and accessible from chapter to chapter, especially where Johnson effectively describes how illnesses that were once considered terminal have become manageable conditions. The thoroughly documented book includes numerous charts and an extensive index.
Johnson argues convincingly that critical changes occur not from the endeavors of lone geniuses but from a network of researchers, activists, reformers, publicists, producers, and marketers.
... thorough if unsatisfying.
