Cracking the Aging Code

“Mitteldorf and Sagan take an extensive stroll through evolutionary theory and aging research in support of an off-center view . . . The authors may be on to something.”—Science News

"Together Mitteldorf and Sagan slough off the old aging theories to make way for the new . . . In many ways Cracking the Aging Code reminds me of On the Origin of Species—both work to overcome entrenched ideas . . . Mitteldorf is like a Darwin himself, full of questions about nature, plunging himself into thought against prevailing notions, making an intellectual voyage to the far ends of research to gather, with painstaking care, all the data needed to support the idea of group selection. For those readers who might not be aware of how scientific progress is made, I recommend this book because there is so much to be learned here from witnessing the struggle against orthodoxy, which is everything in science."—Digital Journal

“Cracking the Aging Code is the most original popular science book you’re likely to read this year. Josh Mitteldorf is a creative thinker and a master teacher. Whether you agree or disagree with the central premise—we are programmed to die—you’ll find that Cracking the Aging Code reshapes your understanding of profound issues concerning the genetic construction of life and death.”—Peter D. Kramer, Clinical Professor Emeritus of Psychiatry and Human Behavior at Brown University, and author of Ordinarily Well and Listening to Prozac

“The authors have attacked one of the greatest paradoxes in the evolutionary sciences. If genes are so damned selfish, why do they code for the destruction of the bodies that carry them? This book includes many a fascinating, entrancing but real tale from nature. And it shows how every one of these pieces of evidence challenges us to answer the book's big question—why would genes code not just for survival but for an organism's annihilation?”—Howard Bloom, author of The Lucifer Principle: A Scientific Expedition into the Forces of History and The God Problem: How a Godless Cosmos Creates

“How do we grow into old age?’ Josh Mitteldorf knows as much about this subtle question as anyone writing today, and his account is full of surprises. He and his coauthor, Dorion Sagan, have created a winning combination of biological literacy and civilized conversation, a true gift to the reader.”—Angus Fletcher, Distinguished Professor Emeritus at The City University of New York Graduate School and author of The Topological Imagination: Spheres, Edges, and Islands

"A thoughtful examination of the role of aging and death in supporting life."—Kirkus Reviews