In Retrospect: From the Pill to the Pen - Paperback

by Carl Djerassi (Author)

These are the reflections of a nonagenarian polymath describing the shift from a fifty-year-long career as a world-famous chemist to a subsequent twenty-five-year immersion in "science-in-fiction" and "science-in-theater," which is virtually unique among contemporary scientists. Sharply self-critical, yet full of humor, this autobiographical account covers themes such as the future of sex in an age of technological reproduction, the history of the Pill seen through the eyes of one of its inventors, innovative -- even unique -- pedagogic experiments, the insoluble homelessness of a refugee, suicide, and art collecting. This book is also heavily illustrated with 94 individual pictures.

Front Jacket

These are the reflections of a nonagenarian polymath describing the shift from a fifty-year-long career as a world-famous chemist to a subsequent twenty-five-year immersion in "science-in-fiction" and "science-in-theater," which is virtually unique among contemporary scientists. Sharply self-critical, yet full of humor, this autobiographical account covers themes such as the future of sex in an age of technological reproduction, the history of the Pill seen through the eyes of one of its inventors, innovative even unique pedagogic experiments, the insoluble homelessness of a refugee, suicide, and art collecting. This book is also heavily illustrated with 94 individual pictures.