By uniting machine and human, hacking our genetic codes, and understanding the body’s molecular structure through engineering principles, cutting-edge scientists are pushing us beyond our natural limitations. And it’s not really about gold-medal Olympics performances. From regrowing damaged legs to using telepathy to assist those who can no longer speak, these new techniques are helping ordinary individuals everywhere build better bodies and better lives.

In The Body Builders, Adam Piore takes us on a fascinating journey into the field of bioengineering--which can be used to reverse engineer, rebuild, and augment human beings--and paints a vivid portrait of the people at its center. Chronicling the ways new technology has retooled our physical expectations and mental processes, Piore visits people who have regrown parts of their fingers and legs in the wake of terrible traumas, tries on a muscle suit that allows him to lift ninety pounds with his fingertips, dips into the race to create "Viagra for the brain," and shadows the doctors trying to give mute patients the ability to communicate telepathically.