The Singularity is Near
If you are looking to take on a big big book, I recommend The Singularity is Near by Ray Kurzweil. Kurzweil is a well-regarded futurist who writes for the New York Times, Wired and others and also has a storied career as a technologist.
The premise of the book is that biotechnology and health sciences in general are currently where computers were in the 60's. This means that in the next 30-40 years there will be an exponential growth in the number of treatments and cures and that if you can live another 30 years than you should probably live to be 110-120 years old! Even more interesting is the bigger picture effects that this will have on economies and the social landscape. The rub for Kurzweil is that he is in his fifties and he is worried about missing the boat and dying from something that will be cured within a year or two of his death.
The book provides a lot of compelling evidence -- ranging from the dramatic drop in computing costs that will make it less expensive than ever before to test drugs -- to the sequencing of the DNA and the treatments that could arise from targeted drugs.
I will admit something friends, reading this book made me start taking a multi-vitamin.
By Myron Gushlak