The Body Electric tells the fascinating story of our bioelectric selves. Robert O. Becker, a pioneer in the field of regeneration and its relationship to electrical currents in living things, challenges the established mechanistic understanding of the body. He found clues to the healing process in the long-discarded theory of the 18th century vitalists that electricity is vital to the life process. But as exciting as Becker's discoveries are, pointing to the day when human limbs, spinal cords, and organs may be regenerated after they have been damaged, equally fascinating is the story of Becker's struggle to do such original work. As his understanding of the effects of electrical forces led him to alert the public to their possible effects on the environment, the establishment erected an even higher wall of resistance. "The Body Electric" also explores new pathways in our understanding of evolution, acupuncture, and psychic phenomena, all within the framework of Dr. Becker's colorful and controversial career.