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Mohrbooks Literary Agency
Sebastian Ritscher
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English
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SHOCKED

David Casarett

Adventures in Bringing Back the Recently Dead

Captivating, thought provoking, humorous, and a little unsettling, SHOCKED takes on questions of life and death with a light touch and a broad perspective. It’s perfect for fans of popular science books like Mary Roach’s Stiff and Atul Gawande’s Complications.
Not long ago, when you were dead, you were really, truly dead. But a little electricity, applied to the heart in just the right way, has changed all that. Now death has become just another serious complication.

In Shocked, Dr. David Casarett, a highly respected professor of medicine at the University of Pennsylvania, embarks on a journey to find out how the science of resuscitation is changing the way we think about life and death.
His travels take him inside a multi-million dollar cryonics facility in the Arizona desert, into a darkroom full of hibernating lemurs in North Carolina, and to an impromptu meeting of a “back from the dead” club in a Pittsburgh bar.

Along the way, he introduces us to scientists who are steadily extending the boundaries of what is possible, entrepreneurs who have placed a price tag on our desire for resurrection, and a wide assortment of patients and others whose lives have been changed—for better or for worse—by a little jolt of electricity.

David Casarett, M.D., is a physician, researcher, and tenured associate professor at the University of Pennsylvania’s Perelman School of Medicine. His studies have included more than ten thousand patients and have resulted in more than one hundred articles and book chapters, published in leading medical journals such as JAMA and The New England Journal of Medicine. His many awards include the prestigious U.S. Presidential Early Career Award for Scientists and Engineers. He is the author of Last Acts. He lives in Philadelphia.
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Book

Published 2014-08-01 by Current

Book

Published 2014-08-01 by Current

Comments

Dr. Casarett writes from his heart and demystifies the art and science of resuscitation. His humor, poignancy, and intrigue make this book a must-read.

Interview Read more...

From the early days of CPR to the latest science on the cryogenic preservation of human life, Casarett takes us on an entertaining exploration into the void that separates life and death. Shocked is a great read.

A hospice doctor, Casarett delivers a brief history and then a detailed overview of the various means of life-saving resuscitation, including the advanced technologies of hibernation, hypothermia and suspended animation. Revival carries costs, physical and financial, and Casarett illuminates the realities of each. But “Shocked” is most useful in debunking the false promises of eternal life through technology. Read more...

Death and life might seem like pretty stark categories, but modern science is finding ways to bring people who are, as Miracle Max might say, only “mostly dead,” back from the brink. We got a chance to talk with University of Pennsylvania physician David Casarett, whose new book Shocked: Adventures in Bringing Back the Recently Dead? explores techniques of resuscitation from the outlandish (blowing smoke up where the sun don’t shine) to the cutting-edge (cooling and cryopreservation): ... Read more...

Casarett accessibly reveals the work being done that may enable us to sleep far more, and so travel far further—in both place and time—than we ever dreamed.

Japanese: Hakuyosha

Casarett provides an often surprising journey through revivification's history and its future. Read more...

A fascinating, well-written, and gripping book by a leading physician that takes readers through the incredible journey of resuscitation science. I recommend this book to anyone interested in learning about the new medical ‘miracles’ that are helping humankind fight death and preserve life.

The unexplored questions underlying every chapter of “Shocked” show how eager we are to grasp at any treatment, however marginal, that promises to prolong life, and why so many people have such difficulty confronting the reality of death or talking about their wishes with their families. Casarett reports that he is optimistic about the future of resuscitation science. But based on his research and his clinical experience, he holds out little hope that we will get better at resisting the lure of technology, reining in its cost or planning for the inevitable end of our own lives. Read more...

Shocked is a compelling and fascinating account of the history, current practice, and hopes for the future of resuscitation. I enjoyed it immensely.

University of Pennsylvania hospice doctor David Casarett, author of the new book “Shocked: Adventures in Bringing Back the Recently Dead,” often sees the toxic aftermath of resuscitation therapies. Read more...

Death comes to all of us sooner or later, but Casarett lets readers in on little-known ways by which medicine is gaining more and more control over our mortality. Shocked is an exciting, firsthand account of scientific research whose implications are relevant to every living person. Read more...

included in “10 Best Things from August 2014”, June 30 Read more...

Casarett's book is an easy read. Still, his point - that we preach saving lives, never once thinking about the expense of that decision - is important. Read more...

Mental Floss – cover story (first serial excerpt), August issue

If you think the line between life and death is a bright one, think again. In Shocked, end-of-life care expert David Casarett takes us on an informative, provocative, and useful tour of the state of the art in attempting to resuscitate the dead and bring them back to life. This is not the stuff of frozen heads, bright lights at the ends of tunnels, and bodies being cloned. It is a review of the best and sometimes worst of what real medicine has to offer and there is a no more lively, engaging, and sensible guide.

In a conversation with The Huffington Post, Casarett discussed the exciting technologies that may lead to improved chances for young victims of trauma ... -- but also about the implications for an aging population. Read more...

Casarett’s inquiry makes for entertaining, informative, and at times, electrifying reading.

Shocked is by turns heartbreaking and hilarious. But more than that, it’s an important book that should force an urgent discussion of the hairline border between alive and dead, and the incredible ethical (and economic) questions we face as technology redraws that boundary

We're now at a point where resuscitation has quietly become a mundane reality, with millions of people certified in CPR and automatic defibrillators installed in thousands of public buildings. But how did we get here — and what does the future of resuscitation look like? Read more...