The Body

BOOK SUMMARY

Bill Bryson once again proves himself to be an incomparable companion as he guides us through the human body—how it functions, its remarkable ability to heal itself, and (unfortunately) the ways it can fail. Full of extraordinary facts (your body made a million red blood cells since you started reading this) and irresistible Brysonesque anecdotes, The Body will lead you to a deeper understanding of the miracle that is life in general and you in particular.

As Bill Bryson writes, "We pass our existence within this wobble of flesh and yet take it almost entirely for granted." The Body will cure that indifference with generous doses of wondrous, compulsively readable facts and information. As addictive as it is comprehensive, this is Bryson at his very best.

ABOUT THE AUTHOR

Bill Bryson's bestselling books include A Walk in the Woods, The Life and Times of the Thunderbolt Kid, and A Short History of Nearly Everything (which won the Aventis Prize in Britain and the Descartes Prize, the European Union's highest literary award). He was chancellor of Durham University, England's third oldest university, from 2005 to 2011, and is an honorary fellow of Britain's Royal Society.

PRAISE

"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. . . . 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 and often gross (kissing, according to one study, transfers up to one billion bacteria from one mouth to another, along with 0.2 micrograms of food bits). . . . Bryson, who gives off a Cronkite-like trustworthy vibe, is good at allaying fears and busting myths." —The New York Times Book Review

"Bryson is a master explainer, with a gift for the pithy simile and all-encompassing metaphor. . . . Mr. Bryson's account is enlivened by his excellent command of the history of medicine. . . . Brisk, provocative and entertaining throughout." —The Wall Street Journal

PRODUCT INFORMATION

Trade paperback 464 pages Non-fiction 7.9 in H | 5.1 in W | 1 in T | 1 lb