Beyond Humanity

Biotechnologies already on the horizon will enable us to be smarter, have better memories, be stronger and quicker, have more stamina, live longer, be more resistant to diseases, and enjoy richer emotional lives. To some of us, these prospects are heartening; to others, they are dreadful. In Beyond Humanity a leading philosopher offers a powerful and controversial exploration of urgent ethical issues concerning human enhancement. These raise enduring questions about what it is to be human, about individuality, about our relationship to nature, and about what sort of society we should strive to have. Allen E. Buchanan urges that the debate about enhancement needs to be informed by a proper understanding of evolutionary biology, which has discredited the simplistic conceptions of human nature used by many opponents of enhancement. He argues that there are powerful reasons for us to embark on the enhancement enterprise, and no objections to enhancement that are sufficient to outweigh them.

Based on true events, BEYOND BETRAYAL - BEYOND HUMANITY relates the human tragedy of Lieschen Reinking, a young aristocratic woman, and her family. The untimely, suspicious death of Lieschen’s mother and the disappearance of her grandmother break Lieschen’s heart when she is only fi ve years old. As soon as she can, she sets out to search for the truth. As a young woman, she falls passionately in love with Robert Schweitzer, but this love cannot exist. Her father wants her to marry Sigi Prinz from their own aristocracy. Lieschen detests Sigi. While the tragic mosaic of life and death, of love, hate, class affl ictions and deceit fracture Lieschen’s heart, the intricate mysteries unravel in an unexpected turn of events when Lieschen uncovers the truth about her mother’s death, her grandmother’s disapperance, and her controversial relationship with Robert Schweitzer. READERS COMMENTS: Engaging and Compelling.

In a time when the quest for alien life forms has been stopped by prejudice against anything not completely and exclusively human, four "unnatural" beings--including Earth's last ape and a thinking computer--must help each other survive