Larry Johnson (2)

A very strange and interesting story. I would consider Larry a brave person for trying to do the right thing in exposing Alcor. Unfortunately, it appears that this incident has generated serious problems for Larry and his wife. I would recommend this book. It appears that many people interested in cryogenics are either just trying to make money (scamming people) or are really stupid enough to believe that cryogenics will work for them and provide them a future life. Cryogenic research for sperm, ova, and some tissue is practical but bringing people back to life after being frozen is seriously out there. Selling eternal life and/or life extension is a big money maker.… (mehr)

If you read most of the reviews on Amazon, they are from employees of Alcor. I stumbled upon the subject of cryonics from a mention on the Nat Geo channel, Googled it, and went from there. It's a fascinating subject, and equally fascinating are the companies that perform it and the people who undergo it (certainly it is nothing I would ever consider). Johnson gives a great overview of the process, but he is very obviously biased. I understand that is naturally the case, as Alcor treated him quite badly, but I would have loved a more balanced approach towards the cryonics process. It's either very heavily against or very heavily pro. Anyway, the pictures are indeed disturbing (but fascinating). Altogether an interesting read if you are interested in this obscure topic.… (mehr)

Looking for an opportunity to move closer to his aging father in Arizona, Larry Johnson, an experienced paramedic, accepted a job with Alcor. Alcor is the largest company in the field of cryonics, which attempts to preserve human corpses by storing them in supercooled environments, until a time when medical technology has developed cures for the conditions that caused the owners to "deanimate".

Once inside, Johnson found that Alcor was more cult than science. Disturbed by Alcor's treatment of the body of baseball player Ted Williams and other "patients", Johnson eventually performed an undercover investigation, and went public with his findings. This is one horrific story, and the photos will give you nightmares. I don't think I will be signing up for cryonic suspension anytime soon.

I was disturbed by the author's revelation of personal details that could be distressing to the survivors of those whose suspensions were bungled - this, in spite of the fact that Johnson cited, as a major reason for writing the book, his distress over Alcor's failure to protect the privacy and observe the final directives of their "patients". Based on the narrative, the average reader can easily put names to the more gruesome photos.… (mehr)