X-Message-Number: 2406
From:  (Thomas Donaldson)
Subject: CRYONICS Re: Cryonics as a Social Trend
Date: Sat, 4 Sep 93 22:15:11 PDT

Hi Charles!

Small point: you misspelled "life-extension" as "life-extention". 

As you know, I've done a bit of science writing of my own in ANALOG (not
counting what I've done in cryonics publications). I hope your book turns out
successful.

Personally, I don't see cryonics as an _inevitable_ trend so much as a possib-
ility. I've met too many health freaks who recoil from the notion of freezing
even while taking their vitamins and drinking their carrot juice. Over the
long term, of course, I'm optimistic ... but too much of the "health" 
literature is full of denial and unwilling to face even such simple facts as
the point that many treatments and diets lack scientific justification. A
full analysis of the complexities and consequences of the widespread refusal to
think rationally about death would fill a book itself. Alan Harrington's book
THE IMMORTALIST is the closest version to that I know of (it's also now very
old) but a good deal more could be done.

What you say about the reaction of publishers interested me a lot, since I have
mused about the possibility of writing such a book myself. If you get no
success you might consider having one of the cryonics organizations publish it.
Alcor of course comes to mind first.

In any case, good luck.
			Best wishes and a long long life,
				Thomas Donaldson

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