Christina Bieber Lake Prophets of the Posthuman provides a fresh and original reading of fictional narratives that raise the question of what it means to be human in the face of rapidly developing bioenhancement technologies. Christina Bieber Lake argues that works by Nathaniel Hawthorne, Walker Percy, Flannery O’Connor, Toni Morrison, George Saunders, Marilynne Robinson, Raymond […]

Winner of the 1961 Hugo Award for Best Novel and widely considered one of the most accomplished, powerful, and enduring classics of modern speculative fiction, Walter M. Miller, Jr.’s A Canticle for Leibowitz is a true landmark of twentieth-century literature—a chilling and still provocative look at a post-apocalyptic future. In a nightmarish ruined world slowly […]

Mary Shelly Shelly’s classic novel brings up several important questions: Is ability the only thing that should limit human exploration and creation? What happens when we cease to control our creations and they begin to control us? What are the costs of human hubris? From Ed. Get this book on Amazon or for free on Project […]

The Brothers Grimm This fascinating story tells the tale of a physician whose godfather is Death and the resulting effects on his career. It is a useful story to spark thoughts about the limits of medicine and its relationship with death. From Ed. A poor man had twelve children and had to work day and night in order just […]

Nathaniel Hawthorne “The Birth-Mark” is a story of a great scientist who applies his vast knowledge to removing a birthmark from the face of his otherwise perfect wife. The scientist succeeds, but leaves his wife dead. The tale of this disastrous assault on “the visible mark of earthly imperfection” explores the troubled relationship between the […]

Ray Bradbury This short story explores what might happen in an environment where parents give up the education of their children to technology (which is what’s increasingly happening today). But Bradbury’s points about technology are much broader than just within the context of parent-child relationships, and can certainly apply to the field of medicine. From Ed. […]

Wendell Berry The title short story, Fidelity, is a “must read” for health care workers. Here Berry portrays the argument of his essay, “Health is Membership” in compelling, fictional form, highlighting the hazards and limitations of technologized “McMedicine.” From Ed. Get this book.

Charles Williams C.S. Lewis said that this book helped him understand pride like no other.  Since pride is a malady that many of us struggle with, this little novel is particularly important. From Ed Novelist, poet, critic, and dramatist Williams uses fiction to explore how people react when the supernatural enters their lives, and how then […]

Aldous Huxley Huxley’s renowned novel examines what happens to a society of endless plenty where human desires are endlessly indulged. The thoughtful picture that he paints is far more disturbing than one might think at first glance. From Ed. Get this book.

Richard Adams. New York: Scribner, 1972. Set in England’s Downs, a once idyllic rural landscape, this stirring tale of adventure, courage and survival follows a band of very special creatures on their flight from the intrusion of man and the certain destruction of their home. Led by a stouthearted pair of friends, they journey forth […]

Flannery O’Connor This is a somewhat disturbing short story by Flannery O’Connor, an American literary stalwart who also happens to be a devout Catholic. On the surface, it has nothing to do with faith and medicine. On a second look, it has everything to do with faith and medicine. Why do so many people spend […]