Everything Conceivable -- Book Review

Title: Everything Conceivable Subtitle: How Assisted Reproduction is Changing Men, Women and the World Penguin Books, 2007. 343 pages, with 57 pages of footnotes and references. By: Liza Mundy This is a very interesting book about the current state of affairs in the world of assisted reproduction. It is comprehensive in its coverage of almost all the latest technologies and the author has been very thorough in researching the subject. On most topics, there are insightful observations on the societal implications of current technologies. In this regard, it is a thought-provoking book. In the epilogue, the writer states, "It was my goal to help readers understand why certain changes in the family are taking place and what their likely consequences might be. Why there is so much demand for donor eggs, now. Why there are so many more triplet sets than there once were. What life is like for those triplet parents. How embryo research and embryo politics are influencing our thought on human life and its origins. What is the real, rather than the imagined impact of medicine and science on families and culture." I think this would be an excellent resource if one were a health care policy maker or if one were writing a term paper or thesis on the subject but I don't really think it's a book to inform the infertility patient about fertility options or what to expect with treatment. It really does not seem to be intended for fertility patients as the target audience. However, the book does provide a lot of useful information in a somewhat scholarly fashion. Most of the facts are correct, with some of the usual journalistic license.

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