"Offers a useful reminder of the role of modern science in
fundamentally transforming all of our lives." --President Barack Obama
(on Twitter)
"An important book." --Steven Pinker, The New York Times Book
Review
The surprising and important story of how humans gained what amounts
to an extra life, from the bestselling author of How We Got to Now and
Where Good Ideas Come From
In 1920, at the end of the last major pandemic, global life expectancy
was just over forty years. Today, in many parts of the world, human
beings can expect to live more than eighty years. As a species we have
doubled our life expectancy in just one century. There are few measures
of human progress more astonishing than this increased longevity.
Extra Life is Steven Johnson's attempt to understand where that
progress came from, telling the epic story of one of humanity's greatest
achievements. How many of those extra years came from vaccines, or the
decrease in famines, or seatbelts? What are the forces that now keep us
alive longer? Behind each breakthrough lies an inspiring story of
cooperative innovation, of brilliant thinkers bolstered by strong
systems of public support and collaborative networks, and of dedicated
activists fighting for meaningful reform.
But for all its focus on positive change, this book is also a reminder
that meaningful gaps in life expectancy still exist, and that new
threats loom on the horizon, as the COVID-19 pandemic has made clear.
How do we avoid decreases in life expectancy as our public health
systems face unprecedented challenges? What current technologies or
interventions that could reduce the impact of future crises are we
somehow ignoring?
A study in how meaningful change happens in society, Extra Life
celebrates the enduring power of common goals and public resources, and
the heroes of public health and medicine too often ignored in popular
accounts of our history. This is the sweeping story of a revolution with
immense public and personal consequences: the doubling of the human
life span.
