Shocked ― Adventures in Bringing Back the Recently Dead

Not too long ago, there was no coming back from death. Butnow, with revolutionary medical advances, death has become just another seriouscomplication.As a young medical student, Dr. David Casarett was inspiredby the story of a two-year-old girl named Michelle Funk. Michelle fell into acreek and was underwater for over an hour. When she was found she wasn'tbreathing, and her pupils were fixed and dilated. That drowning should havebeen fatal. But after three hours of persistent work, a team of doctors andnurses was able to bring her back. It was a miracle.If Michelle could come back after three hours of being dead,what about twelve hours? Or twenty-four? What would it take to revive someonewho had been frozen for one thousand years? And what does blurring the linebetween life and death mean for society?In Shocked,Casarett chronicles his exploration of the cutting edge of resuscitation andreveals just how far science has come. He begins in the eighteenth century,when early attempts at resuscitation involved public displays of barrelrolling, horseback riding (sort of), and blowing smoke up the patient's variousorifices. He then takes us inside a sophisticated cryonics facility in theArizona desert, a dark room full of hibernating lemurs in North Carolina, and alaboratory that puts mice into a state of suspended animation. The result is aspectacular tour of the bizarre world of doctors, engineers, animal biologists,and cryogenics enthusiasts trying to bring the recently dead back to life.Fascinating, thought-provoking, and (believe it or not)funny, Shocked is perfect for thoselooking for a prequel--and a sequel--to Mary Roach's Stiff or for anyone who likes to ponder the ultimate questions oflife and death.