The First Immortal

In 1988, Benjamin Smith suffers a massive heart attack. But he will not die. A pioneering advocate of the infant science of cryonics, he has arranged to have his body frozen until the day when humanity will possess the knowledge, the technology, and the courage to revive him. Yet when Ben resumes life after a frozen interval of eighty-three years, the world is altered beyond recognition. Thanks to cutting-edge science, eternal youth is universally available and the perfection of cloning gives humanity the godlike power to re-create living beings from a single cell. As Ben and his family are resurrected in the mid-twenty-first century, they experience a complex reunion that reaches through generations--and discover that the deepest ethical dilemmas of humankind remain their greatest challenge. . . .

James L. Halperin is the author of The Truth Machine. Born and raised in Massachusetts, he attended Harvard, and now lives in Dallas, Texas, with his wife and two young sons. He also co-owns the world's largest rare coin company. All of his royalties from the sale of this book will be donated to health- and education-related charities.