The 2008 Rogue Scholarship on Aging – Cicero Book Awards (and they go to…)

The 2008 Rogue Scholarship on Aging – Cicero Book Awards

Books that have generated both heat and light on the topic of aging -
scholarly and yet just enough roguishness to challenge the received view and stir up the status quo -

Non-Fiction

* Ending Aging: The Rejuvenation Breakthroughs That Could Reverse Human Aging In Our Lifetime.
by Aubrey de Grey and Michael Rae (St. Martin’s Press) ISBN = 978-0312367077 (paperback -2008)

* for analysis and critique scroll down (thanks)

Fiction

Love and the Incredibly Old Man
by Lee Siegel (University of Chicago Press) ISBN = 978-0-226-75705-6

Tampico
by Toby Olson (University of Texas Press) ISBN = 978-0-292-71827-2

Notables for 2008

Can’t Remember What I Forgot: The Good News From the Front Lines of Memory Research
by Sue Halpern (Harmony Books) ISBN = 978-0-307-40674

The Longevity Revolution: The Benefits and Challenges of Living a Long Life
by Robert N. Butler, M.D. (PublicAffairs) ISBN = 978-1-58648-553-5

Nothing to Be Frightened Of
by Julian Barnes (Knopf) ISBN = 978-0224085236

The Art of Aging: A Doctor’s Prescription for Well-Being
by Sherwin Nuland (Random House) ISBN = 978-1400064779

* Note: The hardback version of this title was released in 2007- the paperback in 2008. I have it as the best in non-fiction this year due to its provocative premise that “the key biomedical technology required to eliminate age-derived debilitation and death entirely – technology that would not only slow but periodically reverse age-related physiological decay, leaving us biologically young into an indefinite future – is now within reach.” This is without doubt one of the most scholarly and intriguing books on the topic on aging – in many years. “Ending Aging” is full of roguishness and I admire Dr. Aubrey de Grey’s passion and laser-focused dedication to the topic. I had a chance to hear him speak this past year at the University of Utah (Eccles Institute of Human Genetics) and he is quite the character – and he delivers the message with authority and hyper-confidence. The book has raised hell – and the level of discussion on research on aging to a greater level of heat and light.

Yet….as I recognize “Ending Aging” as the premier example of rogue scholarship on aging – there are critiques and counterarguments to consider, as well as other benchmark studies to factor into the topic. I for one find more affinity with the theoretical perspectives of Rose (see below). I like the scientific fireworks between SENS and SENSE.

May I suggest the following articles for a well-rounded perspective?

Carnes, B. & Olshansky, S. J. (2007). A realist view of aging, mortality, and future longevity. Population and Development Review, 33(2), 367- 381.
Clegg, B. (2008). Upgrade me: Our amazing journey to human 2.0. New York: St. Martin’s Press.

   Perls et al (2007). Survival of parents and siblings of supercentenarians. Journal of Gerontology, 62A(9), 1028-1034.
   Rose, M.R. (2008). Making SENSE: Strategies for engineering negligible senescence evolutionarily. Rejuvenation Research, 11(2), 527-534.
   Terry et al (2008). Disentangling the roles of disability and morbidity in survival to exceptional old age. Archives of Internal Medicine, 168(3), 279-282.

Thanks – Scott D. Wright