A wild and entertaining adventure into the business of eternal life from ?a rare combination of academic, geek, reporter and fluent essayist? ObserverFrom the epic of Gilgamesh to the alchemy of the philosopher?s stone, humanity?s eternal quest for immortality ? and its rejuvenation tricks, therapies and tinctures ? has always been our most mortal endeavour. But now the giants of invention and investment are building a fountain of youth of their own creation: one they not only engineer, but also own and control. Death is simply their next problem to solve, the latest expression of a hubris that regards humans as appliances to be fixed and machines to be upgraded. By harnessing technology to ?cure? ageing, and funding cutting-edge ? and often controversial ? research, today?s immortalists are locked in an arms race to be the first to pocket the profits of longevity. What was once a wild west of experimentation has wormed its way into Washington?s corridors of power. Award-winning broadc
