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THE PURSUIT OF PERFECTION

Name: THE PURSUIT OF PERFECTION
Author: Sheila M. Rothman
ISBN: 0-679-43980-3

THE PROMISE AND PERILS OF MEDICAL ENHANCEMENT

by Sheila M. Rothman & David J. Rothman ‧ RELEASE DATE: Nov. 4, 2003

A loud and clear caveat emptor, backed up by undeniably disturbing facts regarding the risks and benefits of present-day...

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A critical look at the historical record of medical enhancements as influenced by science, medicine, culture, and commerce, and the lessons to be learned from past experience.

The Rothmans, both historians at Columbia, examine how what started out as cures have turned into enhancements. Beginning with the new science of endocrinology in the 19th century, they reveal how hormones came to be seen as offering a promise of reshaping lives. With the growing relationship of research and commerce in the 20th came a dramatic increase in the sale of prescription drugs, especially hormone preparations such as estrogen. Gynecologists and endocrinologists extolled their use, and many women demanded them, assured that they could, with estrogen’s help, remain forever feminine. The assumed benefits long overshadowed the potential risks. Similarly, testosterone was promoted as the male equivalent, but, as the Rothmans report, it was the lack of patient demand, not the reluctance of physicians to prescribe it, that kept it from becoming a bestseller. The story of liposuction offers further evidence of how the allure of enhancements for some people and the potential for financial gain for some physicians has muted the attention paid to the risks involved. The use of human growth hormone for children of below-average height is a story of the turning of a socially undesirable or disadvantageous condition into a disease. Children have not been the only ones to be subjected to questionable interventions. Soon the use of human growth hormone products to enhance the physiques of adults was being promoted in anti-aging clinics, with the emphasis on benefits taking precedence over cautions about possible adverse side effects. The Rothmans argue that experience with such technologies demonstrates that routine oversight will not be adequate to protect consumers making decisions about the enhancements that genetic research will offer, nor will the advice of individual physicians, medical societies, or government regulatory agencies. What consumers need is to better understand the nature of the research and the reliability of the results.

A loud and clear caveat emptor, backed up by undeniably disturbing facts regarding the risks and benefits of present-day procedures and future possibilities.

Pub Date: Nov. 4, 2003

ISBN: 0-679-43980-3

Page Count: 304

Publisher: Pantheon

Review Posted Online: May 19, 2010

Kirkus Reviews Issue: Oct. 1, 2003

Categories:

GENERAL NONFICTION

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NUTCRACKER

by E.T.A. Hoffmann ‧ RELEASE DATE: Oct. 28, 1996

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This is not the Nutcracker sweet, as passed on by Tchaikovsky and Marius Petipa. No, this is the original Hoffmann tale of 1816, in which the froth of Christmas revelry occasionally parts to let the dark underside of childhood fantasies and fears peek through. The boundaries between dream and reality fade, just as Godfather Drosselmeier, the Nutcracker's creator, is seen as alternately sinister and jolly. And Italian artist Roberto Innocenti gives an errily realistic air to Marie's dreams, in richly detailed illustrations touched by a mysterious light. A beautiful version of this classic tale, which will captivate adults and children alike. (Nutcracker; $35.00; Oct. 28, 1996; 136 pp.; 0-15-100227-4)

Pub Date: Oct. 28, 1996

ISBN: 0-15-100227-4

Page Count: 136

Publisher: Harcourt

Review Posted Online: May 19, 2010

Kirkus Reviews Issue: Aug. 15, 1996

Categories:

GENERAL NONFICTION

- BOOK REVIEW
THE NUTCRACKER AND THE MOUSE KING
by E.T.A. Hoffmann ; adapted by Natalie Andrewson ; illustrated by Natalie Andrewson

- BOOK REVIEW
THE NUTCRACKER
by E.T.A. Hoffmann & illustrated by Julie Paschkis

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TO THE ONE I LOVE THE BEST

EPISODES FROM THE LIFE OF LADY MENDL (ELSIE DE WOLFE)

by Ludwig Bemelmans ‧ RELEASE DATE: Feb. 23, 1955

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An extravaganza in Bemelmans' inimitable vein, but written almost dead pan, with sly, amusing, sometimes biting undertones, breaking through. For Bemelmans was "the man who came to cocktails". And his hostess was Lady Mendl (Elsie de Wolfe), arbiter of American decorating taste over a generation. Lady Mendl was an incredible person,- self-made in proper American tradition on the one hand, for she had been haunted by the poverty of her childhood, and the years of struggle up from its ugliness,- until she became synonymous with the exotic, exquisite, worshipper at beauty's whrine. Bemelmans draws a portrait in extremes, through apt descriptions, through hilarious anecdote, through surprisingly sympathetic and understanding bits of appreciation. The scene shifts from Hollywood to the home she loved the best in Versailles. One meets in passing a vast roster of famous figures of the international and artistic set. And always one feels Bemelmans, slightly offstage, observing, recording, commenting, illustrated.