What to Read in September 2014

Explore the bizarre attempts to reanimate the dead or look 300 years into the future to see how Western civilization is faring.

By Gemma Tarlach, Brenda Poppy, April Reese, and Kathi Kube
Jul 31, 2014 5:00 AMMay 9, 2023 4:34 PM
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Shocked By David Casarett

Thanks to advances in medicine, there’s dead and then there’s really dead. Physician and academic Casarett takes readers on a guided tour of the increasingly broad gray area between those two states. From early, bizarre attempts at resuscitation to disturbing lab experiments and painful decisions about removing a loved one’s ventilator, Casarett covers the gamut of technological advances and their consequences. Shocked has a conversational, often playful tone, but Casarett doesn’t shy away from asking hard questions about prolonging life — regardless of the quality of that life. The science of resurrection, Casarett writes, comes with significant ethical, financial and emotional costs. — Gemma Tarlach

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