Description:
For millennia, humans have tried and often failed to master nature and transcend our limits. But this has started to change. Weaving together vivid storytelling and groundbreaking science, The Body Builders dives into the current revolution in human augmentation and explores how it helps us triumph over the boundaries of our bodies and our minds.
Brief description:
Adam Piore is an award-winning journalist and a former editor and correspondent for Newsweek. His narrative features have appeared in Rolling Stone, Businessweek, Scientific American, National Geographic, the Boston Globe Magazine, and a wide array of other publications. He covered public health for the Boston Globe in 2024, where he was part of the early coverage and investigation of the downfall of Stewart Health Care. This is his third book.
Review Quotes:
"Piore writes gracefully, and with deep insight, about complex scientific endeavors that could ease human suffering but are fraught with myriad ethical perils." - Publishers Weekly
"Mind-blowing. Piore tells the stories of the doctors and engineers and patients who are together part of an amazing scientific revolution. A wonderful book that will excite your intellect and emotions." - Fareed Zakaria, author of The Post American World
"The Body Builders is revelatory. . . . . After reading about the untapped powers within us, you'll come away with a profound appreciation for the reserves of strength and creativity we all hold but, in all likelihood, never dreamed of." - Sharon Begley, author of Train Your Mind, Change Your Brain
"Adam Piore has created an often-inspiring and always-enthralling portrait of a world where the blind see with sound, a boy remembers every day of his life and a man with paralyzing Lou Gehrig's Disease can manipulate objects with nothing more than his brain. A captivating read." - Bill Mesler, coauthor of A Brief History of Creation
"A fascinating dive into what's happening right now in bioengineering research -- from brain-computer interfaces to bionic limbs -- that will redefine human-machine interactions in the years to come." - Salon
"An exhilarating look. . . . A mind-bending read that will expand your perception of self." - Kirkus (Starred Review)
"Piore's informative and optimistic account will fascinate popular-science fans and all readers following developments in therapeutics." - Booklist
"An upbeat and appealing overview of cutting-edge biomedical research." - Library Journal
"A spellbinding journey into the field of bioengineering." - The Daily Beast
"Engaging . . . [and] engrossing." - New York Times Book Review
"This is a mind-blowing book about the human body. Piore takes us inside the technological revolution that is fixing broken limbs and enhancing the human body through bioengineering. He is pointing us to a future in which we will all have the ability to be Superman or Superwoman. Fascinating." - Fareed Zakaria GPS Book of the Week
"Deftly captures the lives of remarkable people propelled by circumstance and their own considerable courage onto the blazing frontier of science and medicine. . . . a profound look at what the future holds not only for the disabled but for all humanity." - Brad Stone, author of The Everything Store
"The Body Builders does what all great books do: They shock us and then make us believe in the future. Piore tells us about the radical science and tech that just a few years ago was science fiction, but now is starting to make it's way into mainstream society." - Zoltan Istvan, author of The Transhumanist Wager and founder of the Transhumanist Party
"The Body Builders reveals a fresh and surprisingly moving tale of people fighting against the odds to overcome their limitations and the visionary inventors with a passion to help them." - Fred Guterl, author of The Fate of the Species
"Adam Piore is a gifted and assiduous reporter. He embeds himself in frightening and complicated places and he gets the story." - Jon Ronson, author of So You've Been Publicly Shamed