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|  | Authors: Ray Kurzweil, Terry Grossman
Publisher: Plume
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Rating:  77 reviews
Sales Rank: 232100
Languages: English (Original Language), English (Unknown), English (Published)
Media: Paperback
Pages: 464
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Dimensions (in): 8.9 x 5.9 x 1.1
ISBN: 0452286670
Dewey Decimal Number: 610
EAN: 9780452286672
ASIN: 0452286670
Publication Date: September 27, 2005
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Showing reviews 26-30 of 77
 Read it - Fantastic Book!!! November 4, 2006
Richard Stoyeck (Westport, CT)
46 out of 51 found this review helpful
This book is extraordinary because Ray Kurzweil is extraordinary. How often can you say that somebody is the real thing, but that's exactly what Kurzweil represents? This man operates on the outer edge of human knowledge. I am reminded years ago of a science fiction writer named Lester Del Rey, a mind so gifted that MIT hooked up a microphone to his neck. Everything he verbalized was recorded because it was felt that he was a hundred years ahead of his time.
People like Kurzweil come along only rarely, and when they do, we are the lucky ones who find out about their existence and can learn from them. This is not to say that Kurzweil is right about everything he says, and thinks. He's not John von Newman, the Hungarian mathematician and advisor to the Manhattan Project during World War II. It was said about von Newman that once he thought about something, and gave an opinion there was no need to think about the subject anymore. He was that thorough in his thought processes.
Forgive my digression, but it's a story you will tell your friends. While von Newman was lecturing one day on mathematics at the Institute of Advanced Studies in Princeton, Einstein asked if he could sit in on the lecture. During the lecture, Einstein looks at von Newman and says in German, "Johnny, slow down, I can't keep up with you." Now there's a brain.
What Kurzweil and von Newman have in common is their ability to convey their thinking to the rest of us. Richard Feynmann the physicist was also like this. It is a rare gift among any group of advanced intellectuals when they can take topics, and break them down into language that the layman can deal with. It is a trait that is also vitally necessary if they are to have influence, and in Kurzweil's case, he does have influence.
Kurzweil was given the National Medal of Technology, and is a member of the National Inventors Hall of Fame. Being an entrepreneur, he doesn't want for money, those needs were taken care of by the sale of his inventions, ideas, and companies that he started.
The premise of this book is that our technology is exploding at such a rate that the authors believe that in the next several decades we will have the knowledge via nanotechnology and others that will allow us to live for hundreds of years. His personal objective is to bridge the gap (his words) in time from now, until this new technology becomes available. Kurzweil wants to live FOREVER, don't we all? What about sex though, will we have sex when we are 200 years old, or will we have to be satisfied reading Plato.
When you consider the amount of energy that each of us has that's put into anxiety concerning our future deaths, Kurzweil is really talking about the ultimate revolution, and the freedom from death. It's nice work if you can get it, and certainly will drive classically trained psychoanalysts up a wall, if they have to give up their anxiety in this yet unrealized future.
As for me, I love the book for other reasons. This fabulous author is able to condense the contents of hundreds of books, thousands of articles, and who knows how many scientific relationships. He then takes the sum total of this knowledge bank, and distills it down into a highly readable book considering the material, of almost 400 pages.
If you want to know about your health, and what you can and should be doing about it, than this is the book for you. Kurzweil goes through the vitamins, and the supplements. He tells you the real deal. In my own world of stock investments, and managing billions of dollars for international entities and families, I get to research and study just about anything I want. Kurzweil has followed a parallel track. Where we cross paths, I can see that he really has mastered a wide assortment of topics.
You just aren't going to find this information anywhere else, unless you can make a full-time commitment to do the research yourself, and who can do that. I go to nanotechnology conferences in California, Kurzweil shows up. I go to Futurology conferences in Washington DC, Kurzweil shows up. I attend seminars at the Media Lab at MIT, and sure enough, there's Kurzweil. Does the man sleep; has he already crossed himself with nanotechnology, and the robotics that he swears is coming? All I know is that he's probably living at a rate of three times the rest of us.
Let's look at just a few chapters and you will see how important this book is:
Chapter 9 on "The Problem with sugar and Insulin" is vital if you want to have an understanding of Diabetes which Kurzweil was diagnosed with at a young age, and now states that he has completely eradicated from his body. Half of the American population is pre-diabetic, and you need to have this information to help yourself, and your loved ones.
Chapter 10 is Kurzweil's personal program. His father had a massive heart attack when he was 51, so the author has a direct interest in heart disease. He's had his genes tested, and he goes into remarkable detail as to what exactly he is doing for himself to bridge the distance in time between now, and when these remarkable life-sustaining technologies are going to come into existence. What's beautiful about the book is that you can read it on many levels. You don't have to strive to understand the whole thing. Take what YOU NEED out of this book, and forget the rest. For those that have an interest however, he takes you to depths that you can't imagine going to in any other way.
Chapter 12 on "Inflammation - The Latest Smoking Gun" is once again a gem of a chapter. Half the people who get heart attacks in this country are walking around with normal Cholesterol levels and normal LDL (bad) Cholesterol levels as well. If Cholesterol is so bad, how can this be? Kurzweil takes you through the latest research on Inflammation, where much of the answer may reside. This is complex stuff the man is tackling, and he makes it a JOY TO READ.
Chapter 15 on the "Real Cause of Heart Disease and How to Prevent It" is worth its weight in gold. He tells you in detail exactly where cutting edge medical technology is today and I know from my own work that maybe 2% of the doctors out there are practicing what Kurzweil already knows to be true.
He covers cancer, the power of your brain, hormones and aging. His chapter on exercise is a grand slam homerun. Perhaps only 1% of the books and literature out there ever talks about what evolutionary biology has to teach us about our bodies. Kurzweil covers the topic better than anyone, and it's worth talking about here.
Our ancestors take us back maybe 5 million years. Human beings broke off from other chains several times during that period. Everything we are however has been shaped over that very long biological period of time through random mutations. Now think about it, for five million years, we have basically been hunter-gatherers, necessitating severe body movement. We probably walked, ran 10 miles a day, maybe more. We are in trouble now because our heritage is 10 miles a day of movement, and we are currently fighting each other to get to a parking space closest to the store we want to go to at the mall. This is a SURE-FIRE RECIPE for the breakdown of our bodies. Kurzweil is right; we need to GET MOVING AGAIN.
Read the book; learn from a true genius what you could be doing, what you should be doing to maximize this beautiful gift that nature gave us, our bodies and our minds. Don't hesitate, click the box to order this book, and get excited in anticipation of taking yourself on a journey that may lead to immortality. If it doesn't, at the very least, you will begin to take control of your body. You will be in the driver's seat. You will take back control of your world from a culture that has led us to obesity, and Diabetes. You NEED to read this book.
Richard Stoyeck
A SEMINAL BOOK --Body/Brain & Sex/Stress Guide September 26, 2006
Joyce Schwarz (Marina Del Rey, CA USA)
13 out of 13 found this review helpful
This is a seminal book. It's amazing what these authors cover in this jam-packed guide to living longer and possibly living forever. Ray Kurzweil if you don't know him is one of the leading scientist/inventors of our time (the synthesizer & more). You may know him from his popular non-fiction book THE AGE OF SPIRITUAL MACHINES --which talks about how smart machines will be by 2020. What I didn't know was his own health challenges-- diabetic etc. And how he hooked up with Dr. Terry Grossman founder of the forward thinking Frontier MEdical Institute in Colorado-- a leading longevity clinic. The umbrella theory of this book is that there are three bridges that could lead you to possible immortality and they include a) present day therapies --what they call Ray & Terry's Longevity Program -- b)Biotech revolution developments -- that will evolve from such things as genetic and protein codes and of how to turn off disease and aging and reach human potential c) Nanotechnology--AI (intelligence revolution) --new tech that will enable us (or those who can afford it at least) the ability to rebuild their bodies and brains eve at the molecular level.
What fascinates and scares me as a reader of this tome-- and believe me it is a BIG book 452 fairly dense pages is that a) immortality may be in reach for an elite group who can afford it b) a great divide between the haves and have-nots may becoming stronger because of biotech advancements. Some elite members of our society or those who have biotech/medical insider contacts may cut corners to achieve some of the results that are becoming possible -- ie organ purchase, stem cell therapy etc.
The book spans 23 chapters and includes a nice epilogue and an extensive resources and contact info section that links up via an online website to complement and hopefully keep updated the info. An extensive notes section is fascinating to read since many of the findings cited in the book are at least for this reader new or covered more indepth than I've seen in the popular press.
Chapter topics go beyond the expected -- and because Terry and Ray talk about their personal and in some cases family health issues the chapters include personal case histories making it more interesting. HOw did Ray beat Diabetes etc. Topics include: food and water -- drink alkaline water -- Ray tells you how/where to get a filter for your water. Eat no sugar, and max 80 carbs a day....very similar in fact to a modified Atkins diet or maybe to the South Beach diet--lots of emphasis on vegies etc.
Balancing fats and proteins is crucial...understanding your digestion system and keeping it from turning into leaky gut syndrome is important.
I loved his chapter 8 -- CHange Your Weight for Live in One Day -- yes -- okay spoiler here -- he says to start eating just the number of calories you need to maintain your ideal weight-- limit the high-glycemic load foods and you'll 'break the vicious cycle'. Makes TOTAL sense.
DANGERS OF BEING OBESE -- scary, scary scary stuff....enough to get you eating properly perhaps and exercising -- walking & weight training.
SUGAR AND INSULIN --per capita consumption of sugar and sugar sweeteners is 150 lbs per year for each American....YUCK...1 in 12 adults has type 2 diabetses....how to find out if you do and how you metabolize sugar etc is included. Lots of emphasis on blood and body testing...
INFLAMATION -- arthritis, Alzheimers, cancer and others-- all evolve from inflamation -- how to test for it and how to DECREASE it.
Methylation -- how important nutritional supplements are to removal of toxins to avoide disease...
GENOMICS -- what do your genes say....how is your heritage-- what you can do about the results and how to compensate.
Detoxification -- clean up toxins -- get rid of the effects of pollution, pesticide, chemicals and heavy metals etc...and your own body's inadequacies.
KEEP YOUR BRAIN POWER -- how to keep your brain active because it represents more than 1/2 of our biological complexity. Nutritional steps, maintaining power of ideas...how to discover the right ideas that can overcome problems and conquer challenges.
Hormone section is kind of kewl...once again both men and women are covered-- menopause and male middle age challenges...Sex Hormones get a whole chapter
Aggressive supplementation -- well Ray is taking 200 supplements a day plus spends a day a week in a lab -- getting intravenous supplements and detox treatments-- a bit too much? Extremist? Maybe but he's being his own guinea pig. Much better than being a couch or mouse potato that's for sure.
POWER OF EXERCISE -- they are big on walking...and having a healthy diet and lifestyle changes aerobic and anaerobic and stretching -- all crucial...
STRESS and BALANC is the last chapter --Animate your life by the four c's challenge, commitment, curiosity and careativity...12 ways to manager stress and achive balance-- and this time no spoilers.
I went out and bought a couple of supplements like sublingual Vitamin B12 and others-- less than $20 at the health store.. Made a schedule for myself to buy some more and actually take them...Trying to cut the carbs-- getting the exercise has to be a top priority....Ray says that you owe it to yourself, your career and your clients (family/workers/colleagues etc) to spend the time on yourself...kind of like keeping the equipment tip top. The book inspires without isolating you for lack of $$ or knowledge...water, water, water, low carbs, exercise...keep brain and body active...have friends...be in touch with family...common sense stuff-- but they provide the checks and balances and things to ask your doctor/medical caretaker etc. BUY IT -- belongs on your desk like a Dictionary of LIVING....
 A Triumph of Hope over Evidence August 16, 2006
The Assassin (Stanford, Ca USA)
12 out of 17 found this review helpful
I bought this book because the authors are very interesting and unusual people. Ray Kurzweil is one of few genuine geniuses of modern technology, and Dr. Grossman seems a very engaged and knowledgeable physician with a prevention-based practise, which I applaud.
It quickly became evident that Ray Kurzweil has a major impetus towards this topic of life extension because of a family history of disease and early death- but, hey, he's not that different from any of us. I myself am a boomer who would really like to find some ways to live as long and healthily as possible, and I'm sure the audience of similar boomers is quite substantial. That is why there are quite a few books similar to this one appearing.
I have read several of these books, am in the medical field, and am quite familiar with the literature on health and life extension. The basic problem with this and many other books is that a program is offered after some discussion of the topic (often very selective) but the program is NOT supported by anything like sufficient evidence to merit its adoption.
I could enlarge on this about a lot of areas of this book, but just to give one example is the issue of supplements. Ray takes about 260 pills a day, and Dr. Grossman about 60 (apparently they don't quite agree). It is very hard to know if these supplements are going to help you, and, importantly that they won't harm you. Just to give an example, even the supplements which would have appear most promising, antioxidant vitamins C and E, have been studied in appropriate trials, and have given very mixed results. In one study, antioxidants of various types were tested to see if they would reduce lung cancer incidence. One antioxidant was associated with a HIGHER incidence of lung cancer. Supplement with care.
In the end, what can you do? Well, you can be sure you never smoke, do not allow yourself to become obese, eat a nutritious balanced diet, get regular aerobic exercise, and keep engaged and purposeful as possible in all aspects of your life. You can't write a book and just have this one sentence, but it appears to be the truth at the present time.
The future- nanotechnology molecular machines zipping around our bodies finding and zapping tumors and so on may happen- but don't hold your breath. This is interesting speculation, but you may not see it until 100 (or 1000) years from now, if ever.
great book August 3, 2006
dmosh
3 out of 5 found this review helpful
I really loved this book. It has absolutely changed my outlook on eating and health. I mostly focused on the stuff i could do today, but the future remedities were interesting too. Moreover, i have since read over books to further expand my knowledge. My diet is 100% different from before plus i take quite a few supplements.
Live--gulp--For--gulp--Ever May 18, 2006
David Govett (Davis, CA, USA)
6 out of 8 found this review helpful
A vitamin every six minutes ranks up there with Voltaire's 50 cups of coffee a day. Such monomania would seem frivolous were the stakes not so high. Ray is simply a Baby Boomer limping along better than most, until he catches the singularity train of (relative) immortality, which should be along real soon now. Except for the occasional howler--alkaline water comes to mind--the book offers sensible advice, though he should have included a chapter on how to raise the money to pay for all the tests, vitamins, supplements, and psychiatrists.
Showing reviews 26-30 of 77
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