Out Cold

A Chilling Descent into the Macabre, Controversial, Lifesaving History of Hypothermia

By: Phil Jaekl

Narrated by: Matt Kugler

Length: 8 hrs and 52 mins

Publisher's summary

“A fascinating look into the strange and sometimes unbelievable history of hypothermic medicine. Jaekl weaves together a story that is part history lesson and part science thriller. This is truly a must-read for any fan of science and science fiction!” (Douglas Talk, MD/MPH, chief medical consultant, SpaceWorks Inc., Human Torpor Project)

The meaning of the word “hypothermia” has Greek origins and roughly translates to “less heat.” Its symptoms can be deadly - shivering, followed by confusion, irrationality, and even the illusion of feeling hot. But hypothermia has another side - it can be therapeutic.

In Out Cold, science writer Phil Jaekl chronicles the underappreciated story of human innovation with cold, from Ancient Egypt, where it was used to treat skin irritations, to 18th-century London, where scientists used it in their first explorations of suspended animation. Throughout history, physicians have used cold to innovate life extension, enable distant space missions, and explore consciousness.

Hypothermia may still conjure macabre images, like the bodies littering Mt. Everest and disembodied heads in cryo-freezers, but the reality is that modern science has invented numerous new life-saving cooling techniques based on what we’ve learned over the centuries. And Out Cold reveals a surprisingly warm future for this chilling state.

©2021 Phil Jaekl (P)2021 PublicAffairs

Left cold.

This book has a number of interesting anecdotes from historical events. How ever is spoild by fantasy speculation in others. Form its recolection of cryonic events it shows this to be a failure rather than a blind redo of aome real possibility.