| Contents |
Introduction: Twenty thousand days -- The long ceiling : measuring life expectancy -- The catalogue of evils : variolation and vaccines -- Vital statistics : data and epidemiology -- Safe as milk : pasteurization and chlorination -- Beyond the placebo effect : drug regulation and testing -- The mold that changed the world : antibiotics -- Egg drops and rocket sleds : automobile and industrial safety -- Feed the world : the decline of the famine -- Conclusion: Bhola Island, revisited. |
| Abstract |
"As a species, humans have doubled their life expectancy in one hundred years. Medical breakthroughs, public health institutions, rising standards of living, and the other advances of modern life have given each person about 20,000 extra days on average. This book attempts to help the reader understand where that progress came from and what forces keep people alive longer. The author also considers how to avoid decreases in life expectancy as public health systems face unprecedented challenges, and what current technologies or interventions could reduce the impact of future crises. This work illuminates the power of common goals and public resources; the work of activists struggling for reform, and of scientists sharing their findings open-source-style; and of non-profit agencies spreading innovations around the world"-- Provided by publisher. |
| General note | "Now a PBS documentary series" -- cover. |
| Bibliography note | Includes bibliographical references (pages 257-274) and index. |
| Source of description | Print version record. |
| Issued in other form | Print version: Johnson, Steven, 1968- Extra life. New York : Riverhead Books, 2021 9780525538851 |
| Genre/form | Instructional and educational works. |
| Genre/form | History. |
| Genre/form | Instructional and educational works. |
| Genre/form | Matériel d'éducation et de formation. |
| ISBN | 9780525538875 (electronic bk.) |
| ISBN | 0525538879 (electronic bk.) |
| Stock number | 4178EB66-443F-41CF-8691-770A142EA33A OverDrive, Inc. http://www.overdrive.com |
