Carl ElliottIntroduction by Peter D. Kramer
Better Than Well
American Medicine Meets the American Dream
"Elliott's absorbing account will make readers think again about the ways that science shapes our personal identities."—American Scientist
Americans have always been the world's most anxiously enthusiastic consumers of "enhancement technologies." Prozac, Viagra, and Botox injections are only the latest manifestations of a familiar pattern: enthusiastic adoption, public hand-wringing, an occasional congressional hearing, and calls for self-reliance.
In a brilliant diagnosis of our reactions to self-improvement technologies, Carl Elliott asks questions that illuminate deep currents in the American character: Why do we feel uneasy about these drugs, procedures, and therapies even while we embrace them? Where do we draw the line between self and society? Why do we seek self-realization in ways so heavily influenced by cultural conformity?
"A superbly crafted book."—Washington Post Book World
"An absorbing read that probes our foibles and uncertainties with gentleness, wisdom, and humor."—Kirkus Reviews
"Elliott grips the reader's attention all the way."—Scientific American
"An impressive achievement."—Metapyschology
Carl Elliott is a professor of bioethics and philosophy at the University of Minnesota. He lives in Minneapolis.
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