Griffith Review is a quarterly publication of fine writing and debate, presenting outstanding new writing about topical subjects.Edition 17, Staying Alive, discusses this most vital of topics from health and medicine to safety, security and violence.Staying alive is much more than a personal challenge. For most of us it revolves around health and medicine, good fortune and opportunity. In a world fraught with violence and inequity it is also a geopolitical issue, especially for those in war torn countries, places ravaged by drought and disaster or beset by violence and genocide.Some of the best writers and thinkers in Australia examine these challenges, from the intensely personal challenges, to the technological and scientific opportunities now available and the political challenges presented by war and global inequity.Staying Alive puts personal dilemmas in the context of the big picture, and maps out new ways of thinking about the human condition.