Altered Fates

As gripping as a novel, this tale of science, medicine, politics, and the jealousies, passions, and dedication of the human heart is certain to be recognized as one of the major nonfiction works of the decade. Seven years in the making, Altered Fates chronicles the saga of gene therapy, a medical revolution unparalleled in human history. Scientists armed with powerful new tools of genetic engineering are attacking such deadly disorders as lung cancer, heart disease, and AIDS by repairing and replacing defective genes. Further, they are racing to find the genes responsible for depression, schizophrenia, Alzheimer's disease, and other psychiatric and neurologic disorders, and they are consummating the marriage of genetics and reproductive technology, raising the possibility of human cloning and the production of "designer" babies. In the pages of this rich and detailed narrative, whose characters include the field's leading scientists as well as key patients and their families, the Pulitzer Prize-winning authors tell the story of the race to be the first to do gene therapy (a feat almost certain to garner a Nobel Prize and a place in medical history), uncovering the behind-the-scenes machinations and rivalries among the prima-donna researchers at some of the world's leading medical centers, including the National Institutes of Health. They also reveal the details of the initial human experiments in gene transfer, and the agonizing decisions faced by the families of the first children to be submitted to the therapy.