
Better Than Well
American Medicine Meets the American Dream
Carl Elliott(Author)
WW Norton & Co (Publisher)
Will be published approx. on 13. July 2004
Book
Paperback/Softback
384 pages
978-0-393-32565-2 (ISBN)
Description
Americans have always been the world's most anxiously enthusiastic consumers of "enhancement technologies." Prozac, Viagra, and Botox injections are only the latest manifestations of a familiar pattern: enthusiastic adoption, public hand-wringing, an occasional congressional hearing, and calls for self-reliance.
In a brilliant diagnosis of our reactions to self-improvement technologies, Carl Elliott asks questions that illuminate deep currents in the American character: Why do we feel uneasy about these drugs, procedures, and therapies even while we embrace them? Where do we draw the line between self and society? Why do we seek self-realization in ways so heavily influenced by cultural conformity?
In a brilliant diagnosis of our reactions to self-improvement technologies, Carl Elliott asks questions that illuminate deep currents in the American character: Why do we feel uneasy about these drugs, procedures, and therapies even while we embrace them? Where do we draw the line between self and society? Why do we seek self-realization in ways so heavily influenced by cultural conformity?
Reviews / Votes
"A superbly crafted book." "An absorbing read that probes our foibles and uncertainties with gentleness, wisdom, and humor." "Elliott grips the reader's attention all the way." "An impressive achievement."More details
Language
English
Place of publication
United States
Target group
College/higher education
Professional and scholarly
Dimensions
Height: 216 mm
Width: 140 mm
Thickness: 23 mm
Weight
540 gr
ISBN-13
978-0-393-32565-2 (9780393325652)
Copyright in bibliographic data and cover images is held by Nielsen Book Services Limited or by the publishers or by their respective licensors: all rights reserved.
Schweitzer Classification
Other editions
Additional editions

E-Book
11/2012
W. W. Norton & Company
€24.99
Available for download
Persons
Carl Elliott is a professor in the Department of Philosophy at the University of Minnesota. A recipient of a Guggenheim Fellowship and a National Endowment for the Humanities Public Scholar Award, he is the author of Better Than Well and White Coat, Black Hat. He lives in Minnesota.