bˌʌt æt ðə sˈeɪm tˈaɪm, dˈɛnæm hˈɑːɹmən, tə hˈuːm ðə bˈʊk wʌz dˈɛdᵻkˌeɪɾᵻd ænd hˌuːz fɹˈiː ɹˈædɪkəl θˈiəɹi ʌv ˈeɪdʒɪŋ wʌz fˈeɪvɚd baɪ pˈɪɹsən ænd ʃˈɔː, oʊpˈaɪnd, "aɪ θˈɪŋk bˈeɪsɪkli ðə bˈʊk ɪz sˈaʊnd," ænd ˈædᵻd "ɪts nˈaɪs tə sˈiː ɐ bˈʊk ˌɔn ˈeɪdʒɪŋ ɔnðə bˈɛstsˈɛlɚ lˈɪsts.
But at the same time, Denham Harman, to whom the book was dedicated and whose free radical theory of aging was favored by Pearson and Shaw, opined, "I think basically the book is sound," and added "It’s nice to see a book on aging on the best-seller lists.