For author Don C Reed, father of a paralyzed son, the California Institute for Regenerative Medicine (CIRM) is the greatest medical advance since penicillin. REVOLUTIONARY THERAPIES is Reed's third book about the $3 billion stem cell program. Voted into law in November 2004, CIRM is now running out of money. Should its funding be renewed? Thereby hangs a tale, or rather several dozen of them, for each of the book's 71 short chapters is framed by a yarn or vignette. The factual background is accurate, vetted by the scientists, but Reed's goal is clearly both entertainment and education. A favorite example is a little girl named Evie, imprisoned in a plastic bubble: her body's immune system did not work, and she would die outside. She joined a CIRM clinical trial ... Imagine how Evie's parents felt — when she got well. Some stories are comical, like 'How Stem Cell Research Saved My Car'; others surprising, like the comparison between politics and the giant crocodile Gustave; others are tragic or inspiring: but all point to this: More than 100 million Americans suffer chronic disease, causing mountains of medical debt — and the only way to reduce that expense ($3 trillion last year) — is cure. | Revolutionary Therapies by Don C Reed, Hardcover | Indigo Chapters