Altered Fates Gene Therapy and the Retooling of Human Life [Paperback]

In the pages of this rich and detailed narrative, whose characters include the field's leading scientists as well as key patients and their families, the Pulitzer Prize-winning authors tell the story of the race to be the first to do gene therapy (a feat almost certain to garner a Nobel Prize and a place in medical history), uncovering the behind-the-scenes machinations and rivalries among the prima-donna researchers at some of the world's leading medical centers, including the National Institutes of Health. They also reveal the details of the initial human experiments in gene transfer and the agonizing decisions faced by the families of the first children to be submitted to the therapy.Starred Review. Well written, exhaustively researched, and filled with the human stories of the scientists, the doctors, and the patients whose only hope is this new field of medicine.An important work.Fast-paced, highly readable. . . . As engaging as any thriller, [it] brings to life the pathos, the excitement, and the drudgery inherent in this sort of research.Starred Review. [An] epic, magnificent history.Engrossing. . . . Detailed and fascinating.Seven years in the making,