Discussions and debates over the medical use of stem cells and cloning have always had a religious component. But there are many different religious voices. This anthology on how religious perspectives can inform the difficult issues of stem cell research and human cloning is essential to the discussion. Contributors reflect the spectrum of Christian responses, from liberal Protestant to evangelical to Roman Catholic. The noted moral philosopher, Laurie Zoloth, offers a Jewish approach to cloning, and Sondra Wheeler contributes her perspective on both Jewish and Christian understandings of embryonic stem cell research.

In addition to the discussions found here, "God and the Embryo" includes a series of official statements on stem cell research and cloning from religious bodies, including the Roman Catholic Church, the Orthodox Church in America, the United Methodist Church, the Southern Baptist Convention, the United Church of Christ, the Presbyterian Church (USA), and the Union of Orthodox Jewish Congregations of America and the Rabbinical Council of America. "Human Cloning and Human Dignity: An Ethical Inquiry," from the statement of the President's Council on Bioethics, concludes the book.

The debates and the discussions will continue, but for anyone interested in the nuances of religious perspectives that make their important contributions to these ethically challenging and important dialectics, "God and the Embryo" is an invaluable resource.

Nature around us and indeed, our own human nature are constantly changing. The question before us then is not if there will be change, but rather whether we will be conscious and conscientious about the course of that change. In Changing Human Nature, James Peterson helps us to think through what our part should be from a Christian perspective.

Viewing New Creations with Anabaptist Eyes investigates the promise and perils of current genetic biotechnology. The varied authors describe the factual bases of biotechnology in a popular format, bring up the ethical problems that emerge, and provide ethical reasoning to meet those challenges. "Now we finally have a rich resource for examining the implications of the Anabaptist tradition for bioethics, a resource that can be used alongside works from other religious traditions," says James F. Childress, Professor of Ethics; Director, Institute for Practical Ethics and Public Life, University of Virginia, in the Foreword

This timely volume clearly lays out the central ethical questions raised by today's rapid advances in biotechnology. James Peterson sorts through the maze of clinical decisions occasioned by human genetic intervention, organizing the range of moral considerations that now face us and exploring their practical impact on individuals, families, and communities.

"This volume represents the social constructivist turn of the field. It is evident that social constructivism made a major impact on the field during the 1970s and 1980s. The diverse papers included here highlight the role of ethnography in STS. In addition, we are exposed to new perspectives of the multicultural and gendered nature of knowledge production."

?Science, Technology, and Society

For the most current, comprehensive resource in this rapidly evolving field, look no further than the Revised Edition of the Handbook of Science and Technology Studies. This masterful volume is the first resource in more than 15 years to define, summarize, and synthesize this complex multidisciplinary, international field. Tightly edited with contributions by an internationally recognized team of leading scholars, this volume addresses the crucial contemporary issues?both traditional and nonconventional?social studies, political studies, and humanistic studies in this changing field. Containing theoretical essays, extensive literature reviews, and detailed case studies, this remarkable volume clearly sets the standard for the field. It does nothing less than establish itself as the benchmark, one that will carry the field well into the next century.

"The long-awaited Handbook of Science and Technology Studies sponsored by the Society for Social Studies of Science is a truly substantial work, both in size and in the breadth of its many contributions. It is a rich and valuable guide to much that is transpiring in the field of Science and Technology Studies. In the editors? words, it is 'an unconventional but arresting atlas of the field at a particular moment in its history.'"

?Science, Technology & Society

"This book is not only an important resource for practitioners, but it also may help to spark the curiosity of those who are outside the field?including scientists and engineers themselves?and so pull the ?half-seen world' of science and technology studies even more fully into the light of day."

?American Scientist

?New Scientist

?Choice