Unlike some other reproductions of classic texts (1) We have not used OCR(Optical Character Recognition), as this leads to bad quality books with introduced typos. (2) In books where there are images such as portraits, maps, sketches etc We have endeavoured to keep the quality of these images, so they represent accurately the original artefact. Although occasionally there may be certain imperfections with these old texts, we feel they deserve to be made available for future generations to enjoy.

Hospital intensive care units have changed when and how we die-and not always for the better. The ICU is a new world, one in which once-fatal diseases can be cured and medical treatments greatly enhance our chances of full recovery. But, paradoxically, these places of physical healing can exact a terrible toll, and by focusing on technology rather than humanity, they too often rob the dying of their dignity. By some accounts, the expensive medical treatments provided in ICUs also threaten to bankrupt the nation. In an attempt to give patients a voice in the ICU when they might not otherwise have one, the living will was introduced in 1969, in response to several notorious cases. These documents were meant to keep physicians from ignoring patients' and families' wishes in stressful situations. Unfortunately, despite their aspirations, living wills contain static statements about hypothetical preferences that rarely apply in practice. And they created a process that isn't faithful to who we are as human beings. Further confusing difficult and painful situations, living wills leave patients with the impression that actual communication with their physicians has taken place, when in fact their deepest desires and values remain unaddressed. In this provocative and empathetic book, medical researcher and ICU physician Samuel Morris Brown uses stories from his clinical practice to outline a new way of thinking about life-threatening illness. Brown's approach acknowledges the conflicting emotions we have when talking about the possibility of death and proposes strategies by which patients, their families, and medical practitioners can better address human needs before, during, and after serious illness. Arguing that any solution to the problems of the inhumanity of intensive care must take advantage of new research on the ways human beings process information and make choices, Brown imagines a truly humane ICU. His manifesto for reform advocates wholeness and healing for people facing life-threatening illness.

IT'S COMING WE HAVE TO GO A runaway planet is on a direct collision course with earth, threatening to reduce it to nothing more than dust and pebbles. It's too big to deflect and too solid to destroy. We can't avoid it and we can't survive it. The only hope for mankind is to not be here when it hits. The only saving grace is that the destruction will not occur for two hundred and thirty years. Can the people of the world set aside their egos and petty differences, not to mention centuries' old distrusts and hatreds, and work together to find a new home planet and develop a way to get there before it's too late? If not then it's not just the earth that will be destroyed, but the human race as well. Does another planet that could support human life exist? Is faster than light travel which could get us there possible? Will our intelligence and spirit of sacrifice save us? Or will our blind adherence to self-interest doom us? Two hundred thirty years.....and counting