|
published by Ecco/Harper Collins, 2006
|
 Challenging Nature
Previous books
Presentations
Publications/Writings
Biography
Princeton teaching
|
Stories published in Newsweek International
Year of Miracles: Biology Reborn (Cover Story, Newsweek International, October 7, 2007)
Playing God: Life 2.0 (Cover Story, Newsweek International, June 4, 2007)
Why GM Is good for us: genetically modified foods may be greener than organic ones.(pdf) Newsweek International, March 20, 2006
The God Effect: America's religious conservatives aren't the only ones who object to science on spiritual grounds
-- so do Europe's Greens. The big winner is Asia. (pdf)Newsweek International: April 5, 2004
Recent articles in the popular press and other commentary
Embryonic Manipulations of George Orwell Bush(American
Council on Science & Health, June 21, 2007)
Are Organic Food
Advocates in Thrall to Mythology Rather Than Science? (Wall Street Journal, January 29, 2007)
Can "science" be used to prove that one-cell human embryos are equivalent to human beings?
A first response to Robert George and Patrick Lee (National
Review Online, October 19, 2006)
A second response to Robert George and Patrick Lee (National
Review Online, January 23, 2007)
A third response
to Robert George and Patrick Lee (not accepted by NRO)
Therapeutic
Potential of Embryonic stem cells: hype flows both ways (American
Council on Science & Health, November 1, 2006)
Why Mother
Nature can't be trusted. (The Scientist, July 2006)
The dirty truth about "organic
food." (New York Academy of Sciences Update, July 2006)
World Premiere Reading of The Sweet, Sweet, Motherhood
written by Jeremy Kareken in collaboration with Lee Silver
Winner of the 4th Annual "Two-Headed Challenge" co-sponsored by The Playwrights' Center and Guthrie Theater, The Sweet, Sweet, Motherhood had a world premiere reading at the 25th Annual PlayLabs Festival in Minneapolis, Minnesota on July 20, 2007. The two-actor play explores the ambiguous meaning of "human being" within the context of an ambiguous professor-student relationship and a species-defying senior thesis in biology.
(Click here for review.)
Popular Articles Due Out Soon
Everything you know about embryo stem cells is wrong! (Op-Ed, June issue of Discover magazine)
Reviews of Challenging Nature
"A
valuable exposition of the rationalist's view of the world, showing how
seriously it differs from many widely held beliefs,. . .
how the ingrained rule of thumb, natural equals good, unnatural equals
bad, makes people instinctively oppose laboratory forms of genetic manipulation.
He argues eloquently that biotechnology holds the solution to many serious
problems but is being shackled by public misperceptions."
(Nicholas Wade, New York Times)
"In this thought-provoking book, molecular biologist Lee Silver
defends science, biotechnology and post-Enlightenment values, which have come under attack
by two ostensibly divergent groups in Western society: the religious right and the eco-environmentalist
left. . . The great strengths of this book are the depth, breadth
and passion of the arguments it musters to help all rationalist protagonists to conduct head-on
arguments along the fault-lines of the Enlightenment debate more effectively." (Nature
Biotechnology - click for full review)
"Silver has his own deep reverence for nature, but
in his wise, realistic view, nature includes even our capacity for intentional
control. In remaking the world according to our deliberate designs, we are
not violating Mother Nature but instead expressing a rather complex, recursive
aspect of nature itself. Although a hard-boiled scientific rationalist,
Silver’s humanitarian hope is that 'Biotechnology could alleviate human
suffering, increase the quality of life in all societies, and maximize
the health of the biosphere.' . . a well-crafted argument
that will help realize
these hopes."
(Thomas Clark, New England Journal of Medicine)
"an eloquent, well-traveled, and well-read counterbalance
for Leon Kass and Jeremy Rifkin . . . [Challenging Nature] provides insight into and
ammunition against almost any anti-biotechnology argument scientists are likely to encounter.
. . a good injection of the rationalist view into one of the most important debates
of our time. And Silver does so in a way that should be equally accessible and enjoyable
to the general reader and the professional scientist, ethicist, or theologian." (Michael
A. Goldman, Science)
"The archetype of mortal defiance, Prometheus
has found a new champion. Outspoken molecular biologist Silver argues
that only scientists willing to join Prometheus in challenging divine
prohibitions will ever deliver on the promise of new genetic technologies.
. . this
book will surely fuel precisely the kind of debate Silver recognizes
as essential in a democracy sorting out perplexing scientific possibilities." (Bryce
Christensen, Featured Booklist review)
"Silver gleefully eviscerates the motley preachers,
pundits, philosophers, and politicians who, he argues, hinder science
on the basis of a vague belief that biotechnology trespasses where mere mortals
dare not go. Silver's ruminations run the gamut, from cloning and genetically
engineered plants to the existence of a human soul, but his skepticism,
while harsh, is also uplifting in its exaltation of science. . . Highly recommended."
(Gregg
Sapp, Library Journal)
[Challenging Nature] is based on science, but don't let that scare you off. The writing is straightforward and simple - no scientific mumbo-jumbo. And the ideas presented are both lucid and sensible [and] will likely challenge your preconceived notions of what biotechnology is and offers. (P.J. Slinger, Capital Times, Madison, WI)
"Silver's
provocative ideas and his graceful prose open new avenues for discussion
of the challenges that face science and spirituality." (Publisher's
Weekly)
"Probing,
controversial, well-documented and often persuasive." (Kirkus
Reviews)
"Silver has been one of the few researchers with both the credentials and the gift of phrasing to articulate what some other scientists thought but wouldn't say." (Brian
Alexander, San Deigo Union-Tribune)
"The threat to science from what Silver calls
the spiritual left may already have overtaken the threat from the
religious right. Now it's time to apply our collective energy to
counter the rise in mysticism and fall of skeptical inquiry. . . you
could do worse than to proffer copies of Silver's book [to acquaintances
and students]." (Editorial by Richard
Gallagher, The Scientist)
"The title may be Challenging Nature, but the
real challenge is to the reader. This one will make you think,
perhaps in realms you've avoided." (John
Monaghan, The Providence Journal)
Brief biosketch of Lee M. Silver
Dr. Lee M. Silver is a professor at Princeton University in the Department of
Molecular Biology and the Woodrow Wilson School of Public and International Affairs. His doctorate
is in biophysics from Harvard University. Silver's previous book for a popular audience is Remaking
Eden,
published in 16 languages. He is also the author of Mouse Genetics (a textbook
for professionals), coeditor of Teratocarcinoma Stem Cells, and coauthor of the undergraduate
text Genetics: from genes to genomes. He has written for The New
York Times, Washington
Post, Time, and Newsweek International and has published over 180 scholarly
articles. He has appeared on numerous television and radio programs including NBC Nightly News
with Tom Brokaw, the Jim Lehrer PBS News Hour, Nova, ABC Nightline, The ABC World Report with
Peter Jennings, the Charlie Rose Show, 20/20, 60 Minutes, and many others in the U.S. and other
countries. For a more detailed biography, click here.
|
Hover over or click on books to order from Amazon.com
   |
||||||||||||||||||
