The Body: A Guide for Occupants
This
SDG a, will take us on a head-to-toe tour of the marvel that is the human body,
how it functions, its remarkable
ability to heal itself, and (unfortunately) the ways it can fail-- and lead us to a deeper understanding of the miracle that
is life in general, and of you and me in particular.
Our
core book: The Body A Guide for Occupants, by noted author, Bill Bryson, is undoubtedly the best popular book on
the subject.
In his lucid, amusing style, Bryson takes us through each body system, what we’re made of, how we are put together, and
how it all works. And along the way, in his informative
and entertaining way, provides historical information, expert
interviews, and biographical details of about the astonishing characters who have been figuring humans
out.
We'll supplement our core book with videos and other materials from the internet and other sources on each topic.
Come join us for this most fascinating look –at us!
Some Reviews of Our Core Book
"Glorious. . .Having described the
physical nature of our world and beyond, from the atomic to the intergalactic,
in The Body [Bryson] now turns inward to explain—in his lucid,
amusing style—what we’re made of. . .Astonishing . .Draws on dozens of experts
and a couple hundred books to carry the reader from outside to inside, from up
to down and from miraculous operational efficiencies to malignant mayhem when
things go awry. . .You will marvel at the brilliance and vast weirdness of your
design." —The Washington Post
"Delightful. . .Reveals the thousands of rarely acknowledged tasks
our body takes care of as we go about our day. . .Informative, entertaining a.
. . Bryson... good at allaying fears and busting myths.” —A.J.
Jacobs, The New York Times Book Review
"Mr. Bryson’s latest book is a ..., a fact-studded survey of our
physiques, inside and out. ... none have done it quite so well as Mr. Bryson,
who writes better, is more amusing and has greater mastery of his material than
anyone else. . .[He] is a master explainer, with a gift for the pithy simile
and all-encompassing metaphor. . .[His] love of language is often on display,
and he can’t resist occasional indulgences on the origins of terms medical and
anatomical. . .Mr. Bryson’s account is enlivened by his excellent command of
the history of medicine. . .Brisk, provocative and entertaining
throughout." —The Wall Street Journal
Bryson launches himself into the wilderness of the human anatomy
armed with his characteristic thoroughness and wit. He ably dissects the knowns
and unknowns of how we live and die and all the idiosyncrasies of our
shared infrastructure. . .This book is full of such arresting factoids and,..."A witty, informative immersion. . .The Body—a delightful,
anecdote-propelled read—proves one of his most ambitious yet, as he leads us on
a head-to-toe tour of a physique that’s terra incognita to many of us. .
.Playful, lucid. . .[Bryson] cover[s] a remarkably large swathe of human
corporeal and cerebral experience." —The Boston Globe
"A directory of wonders. . .Extraordinary. . . A tour of the
minuscule; it aims to do for the human body what his A Short History of
Nearly Everything did for science. . .The prose motors gleefully
along, a finely tuned engine running on jokes, factoids and biographical
interludes. . .Wry, companionable, avuncular and always lucid . . .[The Body] could
stand as an ultimate prescription for life." —The Guardian
"A delightful tour guide. . .Bryson's stroll through human anatomy,
physiology, evolution, and illness (diabetes, cancer, infections) is
instructive, accessible, and entertaining." —Booklist,