Being Mortal meets Four Thousand Weeks in this exploration of the human pursuit of immortality that asks what our fear of death might have to teach us—and what we might gain by embracing it.

Humans have been seeking a cure for death ever since we first began to understand it. From the Epic of Gilgamesh to today's cutting-edge longevity treatments, it seems like we have always sought to live longer. But to what end? Is the pursuit of endless life realistic? And what does it say about us that we can’t seem to stop trying?

In A Short History of Eternal Life, Finnish writer and biologist Tiina Raevaara brings together history, art, and science to explore how humans have approached the idea of immortality. Art and science, she notes, are relentlessly fixed on the question of death, while our perpetual need to move faster and do more only heightens our sense of life’s limitations. Across thirty short chapters, Raevaara traverses myriad topics from vampires, stem cells, and Star Trek, to crossfit, cryogenics, and transhumanism, guiding readers through centuries of scientific advancement with clear prose and a critical eye. As she explores our collective anxieties and works to come to terms with her own mortality, she puts forth a conjecture: perhaps the key to a life well-lived is accepting that each of us will eventually run out of time.

Combining the philosophical grace of On Immunity with the relentless scientific curiosity of Lifespan, A Short History of Eternal Life is a peripatetic investigation of humans’ age-old quest to live forever.