“A fascinating history and analysis of an important medical trend that threatens to overwhelm an already strained system.”
—Arnold S. Relman, M.D., editor in chief emeritus, The New England Journal of Medicine

“A compelling and informative book. The Pursuit of Perfection engagingly explores the growing number of biomedical means that serve the long-standing eagerness of Americans to sustain their powers, sexual and otherwise. Estrogen therapy, testosterone injections, plastic surgery, growth hormone infusions, and, around the corner, genetic enhancements—the Rothmans cover them all, attending appreciatively yet critically to the science, its medical applications, and the cultural and commercial forces that encourage their use.”
—Daniel Kevles, Stanley Woodward Professor of History, Yale University

“This authoritative and compelling chronicle of twentieth-century medical enhancements is a must-read for anyone who thinks government regulation or professional oversight can effectively discourage Americans and at least some of our physicians from embracing dangerous attempts to genetically improve our bodies and alter our biological fates.”
—George J. Annas, author of The Rights of Patients

“The Rothmans have effectively overturned the myth that history has no lessons for contemporary health policy–makers. Their book puts flesh on the bioethical bones of the debate over the ‘enhancement’ uses of medicine, and, in the process, usefully reforms our view of the fundamental anatomy of the problem.”
—Eric Juengst, professor of bioethics, Case Western Reserve University School of Medicine


From the Hardcover edition.