Smart Mice, Not So Smart People: An Interesting and Amusing Guide to Bioethics

Art Caplan has written a smart, provocative book that examines medical ethics in America and the intrusion of politics on complex, scientific issues. Smart Mice, Not So Smart People is an engaging read that tackles controversial subjects ranging from tube feeding to cloning and brings them alive for the layman.

Bioethics and the future arrived hand-in-hand, and we weren’t ready. In the last two decades, the new biosciences have roared into gear, leaving a trail of unprecedented ethical and moral dilemmas like tire tracks in the road. Modern society must decide for itself on these issues, but it needs the guidance of a rare kind of person, equally conversant in science and in ethics. Art Caplan is a leader in this field, and he offers a masterful survey of our present and future challenges and dilemmas, clear accounts of the science, and incisive accounts of the risks, benefits, and range of choices in each area. After reading this book, I can think of no more knowledgeable, level-headed, or trustworthy guide than Art Caplan.

Bioethics is a field of inquiry only 40 years old. Arthur Caplan has emerged as its superstar and this collection of essays reveals why. Caplan is able to make sense of the latest, perplexing dilemmas created by the rush of advances in medical technology. He offers concise well written direction telling us not what to do but what we must consider in formulating our responses to these great and fascinating issues of our time.

Dr. Kaplan, as one of the most-prestigious bioethicists in the world, devotes most of his time to academic research and analysis, but this book is a light-hearted romp through the field, sure to stir everyone’s pot.

What should we do with the extra embryos when we make test-tube babies? Who has the right to pull the plug on dying patients? Can we clone designer children? Art Caplan, one of the liveliest, most engaging bioethicists in the country, shares his trenchant observations about the many moral dilemmas in our high-technology medical system. Entertaining and serious at the same time, most readers will find this a hard book to put down