Steven Johnson is one of my favorite writers on the history of science, and this book is definitely up to his usual standards. Although he does delve into some of the same topics of contemporary research and prospects for life extension addressed in Dr. David Sinclair's book Lifespan, which I previously reviewed, this book is primarily about the history of how whole populations have begun to live longer lives, and indeed, how we have doubled human lifespans in the past century.
During most of human existence, including prehistoric times, ancient civilizations, the Dark Ages, and all the way up through the Renaissance, it doesn’t appear that human lifespans grew very much. Indeed, by using and explaining some of the research and statistical methods that have been used to guess at population longevity from before the time of censuses and population health record-keeping, Johnson shows that even when average lifespans grew slightly longer in the past, they were also likely to grow shorter again with regularity as a result of plagues, famines and other natural causes.
In the past two centuries, though, a series of innovations that you might not have assumed would help many people live longer have indeed begun to do so. Johnson describes how these innovations (such as public plumbing systems, clean water systems, vaccines, seat belts, refrigeration and better food distribution) have each played a role in adding years to our life expectancy.
This is a timely reminder in the years of the pandemic how much benefit science (and the scientific method), enlightened public policy and rising prosperity have played in giving us all the expectation of an “extra life” worth of time to live. It’s very enjoyable and informative; this is science history at its best and most accessible.
Extra Life has also been accompanied by a four-part PBS Mini-series of the same name, which I haven’t yet seen. Highly recommended.
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