''Transhuman Citizen: Zoltan Istvan's Hunt for Immortality'' is a biography of transhumanist and futurist

Zoltan Istvan Zoltan Istvan Gyurko, professionally known as Zoltan Istvan (born March 30, 1973), is an American transhumanist, journalist, entrepreneur, political candidate, and futurist. Formerly a reporter for the National Geographic Channel, Istvan now ...

. Written by Ben Murnane, it was published by Changemakers Books in 2024. It won awards in the biography category of the NYC Big Book Awards and at the International Impact Book Awards.

Synopsis

The 75,000-word biography follows the life and work of Zoltan Istvan. The narrative covers Istvan's childhood, his seven-year sailing trip, and his international journalism career at

National Geographic ''National Geographic'' (formerly ''The National Geographic Magazine'', sometimes branded as ''Nat Geo'') is an American monthly magazine published by National Geographic Partners. The magazine was founded in 1888 as a scholarly journal, nine ...

. Following an incident with a land mine while on assignment, Istvan dedicated his life to promoting science as a means to overcome death. The book details Istvan's formation of the

Transhumanist Party The Transhumanist Party is a political party in the United States. The party's platform is based on the ideas and principles of transhumanist politics, e.g., human enhancement, human rights, science, life extension, and technological progress. ...

and his runs for the US presidency and Governorship of California as a science candidate. Additionally, the book's author Murnane, suffers from a life-limiting genetic condition, Fanconni anemeia, and this is explored in the book in contrast to the life of Istvan. In his teenage years he was saved from premature death by bone marrow transplants and the immunosuppressant drug

fludarabine Fludarabine is a purine analogue and antineoplastic agent. It is generally used as its 5-O-phosphorylated form known as fludarabine phosphate, sold under the brand name Fludara among others. It is a chemotherapy medication used in the treatm ...

. Those early experiences sparked an interest in how technology can extend and improve human life which ultimately led him to transhumanism.

Reception

The book was officially launched at the Marino School outside of Dublin, Ireland, on June 15, 2024, with both Istvan and Murnane giving speeches. Upon release it received mostly positive media coverage, including in ''Forbes'', the ''

Irish Independent The ''Irish Independent'' is an Irish daily newspaper A newspaper is a Periodical literature, periodical publication containing written News, information about current events and is often typed in black ink with a white or gray backgrou ...

'', and ''Newsweek''. Chris Armstrong in the ''

Marin Independent Journal The ''Marin Independent Journal'' is the main newspaper of Marin County, California. The paper is owned by California Newspapers Partnership, which is in turn mostly owned by MediaNews Group.

'' wrote that the book is "a semi-political biography; it chronicles how transhumanism became an activist movement based on Mill Valley resident Zoltan Istvan's popular U.S. presidential and California gubernatorial runs from 2014 to 2020". Peter Clarke at ''Merion West'' wrote that the book offers "a taste of Istvan's vision, which may prove to be transformative for our culture".

Criticism

On the Transhumanist Party website, Dan Elton criticized the book's cover, stating that it makes Istvan appear "creepy". In ''

The Malta Independent ''The Malta Independent'' is a national newspaper published daily in Malta. It was started in 1992. The paper Paper is a thin sheet material produced by mechanically or chemically processing cellulose fibres derived from wood, Textile, ra ...

'', writer Anthony Zarb Dimech discussed the biography critically in the context of the dangers of

artificial intelligence Artificial intelligence (AI) is the capability of computer, computational systems to perform tasks typically associated with human intelligence, such as learning, reasoning, problem-solving, perception, and decision-making. It is a field of re ...

. Dimech describes the book as a thoughtful exploration of the ideas of the transhumanist movement, but raises concerns that increased use of AI could lead to the erosion of cognitive skills and increased social isolation.

References

{{reflist 2024 non-fiction books Books about life extension Futurology books Transhumanist books