The Body Builders

For millennia, humans have tried—and often failed—to master nature and transcend our limits. But this has started to change. The new scientific frontier is the human body: the greatest engineers of our generation have turned their sights inward, and their work is beginning to revolutionize mankind. The Body Builders takes us on a fascinating journey into the field of bioengineering—which can be used to reverse engineer, rebuild, and augment human beings—and paints a vivid portrait of the people at its center.

Chronicling the ways new technology has retooled our physical expectations and mental processes, Piore visits people who have regrown parts of their fingers and legs in the wake of terrible traumas, tries on a muscle suit that allows him to lift ninety pounds with his fingertips, dips into the race to create “Viagra for the brain,” and shadows the doctors trying to give mute patients the ability to communicate telepathically.

An exhilarating look. . . . A mind-bending read that will expand your perception of self.

Kirkus (Starred Review)

Piore writes gracefully, and with deep insight, about complex scientific endeavors that could ease human suffering but are fraught with myriad ethical perils.

Publishers Weekly (Spring 2017, top 10 science book)

A wonderful book that will excite your intellect and emotions.

Fareed Zakaria, author of The Post American World.

A profound look at what the future holds not only for the disabled but for all humanity.

Brad Stone, author of The Everything Store

The Body Builders is revelatory... you’ll come away with a profound appreciation for the reserves of

strength and creativity we all hold but, in all likelihood, never dreamed of.

Sharon Begley, author of Train Your Mind, Change Your Brain