X-Message-Number: 11942 From: Thomas Donaldson <> Subject: a bit for Richard Gillman Date: Fri, 11 Jun 1999 22:26:07 +1000 (EST) To Richard Gillman: I've read Becker's book, and I've also read a much more obscure book called THE IMMORTALIST, by someone much more obscure by the name of Alan Harrington. If I understand the sequence of events properly, Becker wrote his book AFTER Harrington, and appropriated many of Harrington's arguments. Harrington, unlike Becker, believed that we should use our medical research and science to find means toward immortality (from which comes the title of his book). Becker took Harrington's arguments and turned them against that notion. Harrington had a chapter on cryonics (he wrote his book in 1969, when cryonics groups were tiny, even compared to today). He never took up cryonics himself and apparently is now dead. However his book was an early discussion not only of the merits of immortality but of what it would mean to us psychologically. Frankly it looked to me that Becker stole Harrington's ideas about the psychology of death, and twisted them into a message which many felt happier with. And for that he got his Pulitzer prize. At a minimum, if you read Becker carefully he does mention Harrington in passing, while Harrington never mentions Becker. As you might expect, Becker mentions Harrington negatively. You may find Harrington's book hard to get, but one thing you might try is to ask a book search firm to look for a copy. One firm I would suggest is SLIGHTLY READ BOOKS, , phone 515-236-0541. Their mail address is 928 Main Place, Grinnell, IA. If you get a copy you can work out for yourself just how much Becker owed Harrington. Whatever else it is, THE IMMORTALIST is a relatively recent discussion of the merits and importance of immortality, psychologically and socially. Harrington clearly thought that this immortality could be attained by the proper scientific research, but his emphasis wasn't on what we know about aging but instead on the meaning of a successful discovery of how to make PEOPLE (you, me, anyone) immortal, in the flesh and not in any kind of spiritual way. Best and long long life, Thomas Donaldson Rate This Message: http://www.cryonet.org/cgi-bin/rate.cgi?msg=11942