The Pursuit of Perfection : The Promise and Perils of Medical Enhancement

Rothman, Sheila, Rothman, David

ISBN 10: 0679439803 / ISBN 13: 9780679439806

Published by Knopf Doubleday Publishing Group, 2003

Former library book; may include library markings. Used book that is in clean, average condition without any missing pages. Seller Inventory # 732515-75

Synopsis:

What does it mean to live in a time when medical science can not only cure the human body but also reshape it? How should we as individuals and as a society respond to new drugs and genetic technologies? Sheila and David Rothman address these questions with a singular blend of history and analysis, taking us behind the scenes to explain how scientific research, medical practice, drug company policies, and a quest for peak performance combine to exaggerate potential benefits and minimize risks. They present a fascinating and factual story from the rise of estrogen and testosterone use in the 1920s and 1930s to the frenzy around liposuction and growth hormone to the latest research into the genetics of aging. The Rothmans reveal what happens when physicians view patients’ unhappiness and dissatisfaction with their bodies—short stature, thunder thighs, aging—as though they were diseases to be treated.

The Pursuit of Perfection takes us from the early days of endocrinology (the belief that you are your hormones) to today’s frontier of genetic enhancements (the idea that you are your genes). It lays bare the always complicated and sometimes compromised positions of science, medicine, and commerce. This is the book to read before signing on for the latest medical fix.

From the Back Cover: “A fascinating history and analysis of an important medical trend that threatens to overwhelm an already strained system.”
—Arnold S. Relman, M.D., editor in chief emeritus, The New England Journal of Medicine

“A compelling and informative book. The Pursuit of Perfection engagingly explores the growing number of biomedical means that serve the long-standing eagerness of Americans to sustain their powers, sexual and otherwise. Estrogen therapy, testosterone injections, plastic surgery, growth hormone infusions, and, around the corner, genetic enhancements—the Rothmans cover them all, attending appreciatively yet critically to the science, its medical applications, and the cultural and commercial forces that encourage their use.”
—Daniel Kevles, Stanley Woodward Professor of History, Yale University

“This authoritative and compelling chronicle of twentieth-century medical enhancements is a must-read for anyone who thinks government regulation or professional oversight can effectively discourage Americans and at least some of our physicians from embracing dangerous attempts to genetically improve our bodies and alter our biological fates.”
—George J. Annas, author of The Rights of Patients

“The Rothmans have effectively overturned the myth that history has no lessons for contemporary health policy–makers. Their book puts flesh on the bioethical bones of the debate over the ‘enhancement’ uses of medicine, and, in the process, usefully reforms our view of the fundamental anatomy of the problem.”
—Eric Juengst, professor of bioethics, Case Western Reserve University School of Medicine

Bibliographic Details

Title: The Pursuit of Perfection : The Promise and ...
Publisher: Knopf Doubleday Publishing Group
Publication Date: 2003
Binding: Hardcover
Condition: Good
Edition: 1st.