Pulitzer-prize winning author Jonathan Weiner's revealing story of the science that is about to change all life forever. Biology used to be a science of the way things are. Now it is a science of the way things work, like physics or engineering. Biology's progress fascinates and appals us because it has gone from learning the ways of nature to trying to turn her. In his extraordinary new book, Jonathan Weiner reveals the life-changing discoveries that have been converging over the past half a century to bring us to a moment when biology has the power to change life as we know it. When Stephen Heywood, a carpenter, discovered he had A.L.S., a gradual, mysterious deterioration of the nervous system, Jamie Heywood, gave up his lucrative job to try and save his brother's life. He worked with cutting-edge scientists in a race to find a cure. Through this remarkable journey with a family in crisis, we are given an overview of the various gene therapies that are still on the horizon, capable of potentially bringing back those suffering from neurological diseases such as ALS, Alzheimer's, Parkinson's, and other various disorders of the brain. Through Jonathan Weiner's translucent prose, we experience not only the passion and torment of the Heywoods, but the fascinating and bewildering frontiers of biology. We learn a vast amount about the groundbreaking technologies that may one day save our own lives and will almost certainly change the way we live them.

His Brother's Keeper

Science & Math

Weiner, Jonathan

Biological Sciences

Fourth Estate

Stephen Heywood was 29 years old when he learned that he was dying of ALS—Lou Gehrig's disease. Almost overnight, his older brother, Jamie, turned himself into a genetic engineer in a quixotic race to cure the incurable. His Brother's Keeper is a powerful account of their story, as they travel together to the edge of medicine. The book brings home for all of us the hopes and fears of the new biology.In this dramatic and suspenseful narrative, Jonathan Weiner gives us a remarkable portrait of science and medicine today. We learn about gene therapy, stem cells, brain vaccines, and other novel treatments for such nerve-death diseases as ALS, Alzheimer's, and Parkinson's—diseases that afflict millions, and touch the lives of many more. "The Heywoods' story taught me many things about the nature of healing in the new millennium," Weiner writes. "They also taught me about what has not changed since the time of the ancients and may never change as long as there are human beings—about what Lucretius calls 'the ever-living wound of love".

His Brother's Keeper : A Story from the Edge of Medicine

Forth Estate

From Jonathan Weiner, Pulitzer Prize-winning author of The Beak of the Finch, comes His Brother's Keeper -- the story of a young entrepreneur who gambles on the risky science of gene therapy to try to save his brother's life.
Stephen Heywood was twenty-nine years old when he learned that he was dying of ALS -- Lou Gehrig's disease. Almost overnight his older brother, Jamie, turned himself into a genetic engineer in a quixotic race to cure the incurable. His Brother's Keeper is a powerful account of their story, as they travel together to the edge of medicine.
The book brings home for all of us the hopes and fears of the new biology. In this dramatic and suspenseful narrative, Jonathan Weiner gives us a remarkable portrait of science and medicine today. We learn about gene therapy, stem cells, brain vaccines, and other novel treatments for such nerve-death diseases as ALS, Alzheimer's, and Parkinson's -- diseases that afflict millions, and touch the lives of many more.
It turns out that the author has a personal stake in the story as well. When he met the Heywood brothers, his own mother was dying of a rare nerve-death disease. The Heywoods' gene therapist offered to try to save her, too.
"The Heywoods' story taught me many things about the nature of healing in the new millennium," Weiner writes. "They also taught me about what has not changed since the time of the ancients and may never change as long as there are human beings -- about what Lucretius calls ‘the ever-living wound of love.'
"The Heywoods mean the whole story to me now: an allegory from the edge of medicine. A story to make us ask ourselves questions that we have to ask but do not want to ask. How much of life can we engineer? How much is permitted us?
"What would you do to save your brother's life?"

His Brother's Keeper: A Story from the Edge of Medicine

Literature & Fiction

Ecco

Stephen Heywood was twenty-nine years old when he learned that he was dying of ALS - Lou Gehrig's disease. Almost overnight his older brother, Jamie, turned himself into a genetic engineer in a quixotic race to cure the incurable. His Brother's Keeper is a powerful account of their story, as they travel together to the edge of medicine. The book brings home for all of us the hopes and fears of the new biology. In this dramatic and suspenseful narrative, Jonathan Weiner gives us a remarkable portrait of science and medicine today. We learn about gene therapy, stem cells, brain vaccines, and other novel treatments for such nerve-death diseases as ALS, Alzheimer's, and Parkinson's - diseases that afflict millions, and touch the lives of many more. "The Heywoods' story taught me many things about the nature of healing in the new millennium," Weiner writes. "They also taught me about what has not changed since the time of the ancients and may never change as long as there are human beings - about what Lucretius calls 'the ever-living wound of love.'"This P.S. edition features an extra 16 pages of insights into the book, including author interviews, recommended reading, and more.

His Brother's Keeper: One Family's Journey to the Edge of Medicine

Reference

“[A] searching and surprisingly witty look at the scientific odds against tomorrow.” —Timothy Ferris 
Jonathan Weiner—winner of the Pulitzer Prize, the National Book Critics Circle Award, and the Los Angeles Times Book Prize, and one of the most distinguished popular science writers in America—examines “the strange science of immortality” in Long for This World. A fast-paced, sure-to-astonish scientific adventure from “one of our finest science journalists” (Jonah Lehrer), Weiner’s Long for This World addresses the ageless question, “Is there a secret to eternal youth?” And has it, at long last, been found?

Long for This World: The Strange Science of Immortality

Comics & Graphic Novels

Graphic Novels

Self-Help

Personal Transformation

x 332p paperback, illustrated, title page shows short message to previous owner from a friend, all other pages bright and unmarked, cover edges a bit worn, a firm copy, in good condition

The Beak of the Finch: Story of Evolution in Our Time New edition by Jonathan Weiner (1995) Paperback

Vintage

Examines the structure and evolution of the earth, discusses its climate, weather, and natural resources, tells what studies of the sun and the planets reveal about the earth, and describes the probable effects of a nuclear war

Planet Earth: The Companion Volume to the PBS Television Series

Bantam]

The author examines the threat of the greenhouse effect on the planet, the hole in the ozone layer, and the decimation of forests, and details the steps necessary to reverse these disasters

The Next One Hundred Years: Shaping the Fate of Our Living Earth

Planet Earth

See the best price to sell, buy, or rent books by Weiner, Jonathan. BookScouter helps to compare book prices from 25+ online bookstores and 30+ buyback vendors with a single search.

Books by Weiner, Jonathan

See the best price to sell, buy, or rent books by Weiner, Jonathan. BookScouter helps to compare book prices from 25+ online bookstores and 30+ buyback vendors with a single search.

His Brother's Keeper

His Brother's Keeper : A Story from the Edge of Medicine

His Brother's Keeper: A Story from the Edge of Medicine

His Brother's Keeper: One Family's Journey to the Edge of Medicine

Long for This World: The Strange Science of Immortality

Long for This World: The Strange Science of Immortality

The Beak of the Finch: Story of Evolution in Our Time New edition by Jonathan Weiner (1995) Paperback

Planet Earth: The Companion Volume to the PBS Television Series

The Next One Hundred Years: Shaping the Fate of Our Living Earth

Planet Earth