A fascinating book on how our bodies are evolving towards a longer life. This book ignores the problems that might kill us before our time. This includes war, accidents, infectious disease, famine, etc. Instead it looks at what happens to our bodies as we age. Is there a 'death gene' that starts shutting our bodily systems down at some age? How does heredity play a part?

This book is a popular summary of recent research into the end of life. It looks at the statistics showing that we are living longer and then begins to look at ways to account for our longer lives.

For some evidence of how this is affecting our world, consider that when social security was passed in 1935, at that time the median life expectancy in the US was 54 for women and 46 for men. Now it is in the seventies. What happens medically, socially, institutionality if life expectancy extends to 150 years or perhaps 300?