Pandora's Baby: How the First Test Tube Babies Sparked the Reproductive Revolution Annotated Edition

Science writer Robin Marantz Henig considers the development of in vitro fertilization and the ethics issues that research provoked while also examining the motivations of the scientists (and the patients) involved. The story of how Louise Brown came to be born is the narrative spine of the book. This book is filled with great information and provocative thoughts but it is dated. In the nearly decade and a half since the book was written, the technology has come so, so far.

GREAT BOOK M8. Cheers.

This book was meticulously researched and very well written. Despite the overwhelming basis in history, science and fact, it was not dry or boring. It had both a human aspect - the weaving together stories of couples undergoing IVF and doctors' frustrations at the early science of it. The scope of this global. I expected it to focus on only America, but this was not the case. If you are interested in IVF, I would highly recommend this book.It is not a "how to" guide nor is it a self-help book. The world today has wholly embraced IVF. This book shows the uphill battle doctors, patients and the world faced with getting to where we are today.

Pandora's Baby is narrated like a good story, and describes the controversy over the first test tube baby. I read this book over five or six years ago, and will go back to re-read it again soon. This book was one that combined science and literature quite beautifully. I am always looking for science based books that are both informative/educational, and well-written. Most science related books seem to disappoint on this level. Other books are usually fragmented in their description of the topic, or are dull. This book exceeds my expectation.

Adjectives like "judicious" and "level headed" (see the Publisher's Weekly review) don't do justice to this lively and probing and timely book. Henig has the gift of conveying complex scientific information painlessly and the stories she tells are riveting, full of hubris, lawsuits,medical cowboys, desperate would-be parents, nutty fundamentalists (in one protest at an in-vitro clinic, they carried a sign that read "Incest in a Test Tube") and, of course, politics. If you've been following the debate over stem cell research, cloning or the work of the President's commission on bioethics ( its chairman,Leon Kass, appears in this book as an early opponent of IVF ) Pandora's Baby is invaluable. And if you haven't been following, this is a great place to start.

I got this book after reading the excerpts from a online book club since it is a topic I am interested in. Overall the book was very difficult to get through. It is really about medical ethics than it really is about the history of assisted reproduction. The "cast of characters" was very confusing to follow. To learn more about the couple you meet in the beginning takes chapters. I am not a science person but enjoy reading factual accounts. This book is more of an education lesson than entertainment.