Why We Die: The New Science of Ageing and the Quest for Immortality: The New Science of Longevity - 'Changed my perspective on the whole living world' Chris Van Tulleken

Longevity, life span, health span are all subjects that have come to centre stage along with AI in the last few years. This book is not the first accessible book for non-scientists on this subject but is remarkable for its very objective look at what scientists have learned about ageing. I found this a fascinating read both because of the subject and the simplicity with which the author writes about the body at the cellular level. The book is largely about science but also humanity. To some extent Dr Ramakrishnan punctures the over excited pseudo science about supplements like metformin, rapamycin, AMPK activators, and reseveratrol etc. The underlying message is simple although he conveys it lightly — science will progress and come out with useful and useable findings but for now it’s better to focus on traditional wisdom and established science that emphasises heathy eating with calorie restriction, regular but not excessive exercise, good sleep, and a World view of contentment. It’s a short book and, despite the science inter spread with stories of the scientists, is an easy read.

A bit tough to read as the subject is also heavy. But very lucidly written. His podcasts supplement the book

Good read,philosophical approach, scientific details explained well...overall a good reaf

The title of the book- WHY WE DIE does seem sound like an existential question but the book is not about that. Venki Ramakrishnan is an Indian origin molecular biologist who shared Nobel Prize for chemistry in 2009. I quote a paragraph from the book. " What we really mean when we say we die is that we stop functioning as a coherent whole. The collection of cells that forms our tissues and organs all communicate with one another to make the sentient individuals we are. When they no longer work together as a unit, we die. " This book is all about the above quote. The author takes us through a fascinating journey of how different cells, organs and tissues work and coordinate. The book is not free of technical jargon but it is written with a free flowing lucidity which makes the reader to appreciate and understand the contents easily. A good portion of the end chapters centres around ageing and death. Can we defy death? A lot of funding has gone into anti ageing research. There are about 700 biotech organizations mostly backed by tech entrepreneurs. These billionaires when young wanted to be rich and now when they are rich and old want to be young again. But these research organizations have nothing to show in the last 20 years. Quoting his friend Ganesh Devy in the book "We have to regard our individual selves as parts of larger entities like family, community and society, just as all the cells in our body are part of tissues and organs and us.Millions of our cells die everyday. Not only do we not mourn their passing, but we are not even aware of it. So even if we as individuals die, our society and indeed life on Earth will go on. Our own genes will live on through our offspring or other family members. Life has been going on for billion years while we individuals come and go. " The above quote summarizes the book beautifully. Appreciate and understand our body. Respect it. Take care of it. And when death beckons, accept and deal with dignity. 5/5.

A few years back, when I read Bill Bryson's book about the human body, I wished he had been my teacher in school. After reading Venki Ramakrishnan's book Why We Die, I sincerely wished he had been my teacher in Medical College! I also wish I could impart surgical knowledge to my own students as lucidly as Venki Ramakrishnan does. This book is Bill Bryson delving deep into very serious scientific stuff - the appeal to an average person without any medical background (my wife, who has also read the book, confirms this) is remarkable. Venki Ramakrishnan takes us on a Fantastic Voyage (Asimov would have loved this comparison!) into the hitherto unknown realms of the Cell, the most basic denominator in all our bodies. And the parallel he draws to the outside world give us the perspective needed to understand a complex subject. There is as much philosophy in this book as there is science. Our preoccupation with immortality, our desire not only to live on forever, but to live without any disease or deformity, and its implications to the society at large, are explored in a compassionate, yet matter of fact way. Information is presented with wonderful similes, and a sense of inoffensive humour worthy of admiration. His ability to show the human side of scientists – warts and all – brings us common folk closer to the most brilliant minds in our midst. All the while, we continue our journey of understanding the balance between good health, cancer, and the price of attempting to tinker with nature’s plans for us as a species. Venki Ramakrishnan warns the reader of the folly of blindly embracing everything that is touted as the ultimate elixir of life. It is up to the reader to take it or choose instead to fall for clever propaganda. I am sure this book will be quoted for decades to come in more fields than just biomedical science. The concluding paragraph about enjoying this eternal party called life, and leaving it with dignity and poise when our time comes, is something I can see myself quoting again and again. I can say without hesitation that this is perhaps the most profound book about humanity to be published in recent times. This is one book that will delight the scientific reader as much as the common bibliophile. A book to be read, savoured and discussed - again and again.

A must read for all. It’s written in simple language without too much technical jargon and quite easy to follow. The book is about the inevitability of death and the quest for immortality, a quest that has driven human civilization for centuries and spawned many coping strategies like soul, transmigration, resurrection, etc., that are changing after modern science and the focus has shifted toward finding ways to extending human life span. If you are concerned about how you will face the end of life, when you are finding that you can do only with difficulty, or not at all, things you could do easily even just ten or twenty years ago and sometimes you feel that life is like being constrained to a smaller and smaller portion of a house, as doors to rooms that we would like to explore slowly close shut as we age and are interested to find the recent scientific prospects on the fundamental causes of aging to pry those doors open again at cellular level to find ways to improve our health and ameliorate aging effects, please read the book. It’s worth the time and effort.

Book Quality is not as expected

Dr Venki has excelled in simplifying the scientific explanations he gives for various theories about ageing. He is candid, humorous and never minces his words. His opinions and counter-arguments are so profoundly solid. His end notes in the last chapter are amazingly insightful and brings one back to almost understanding “why we live”!! Thanks Dr Venki.