The Body: A Guide for Occupants

"Bill Bryson is, of course, well known. He’s written on many different themes and is a previous recipient of the Royal Society science book prize for his A Short History of Nearly Everything . In this new book, he embarks on a journey into the interior of the human body and, as the title suggests, it is rich with his wry sense of humour. It is a comprehensive and fascinating guide. It is written in accessible form and packed full of facts. It covers diverse topics, including the skin and hair, the microbes that live inside us, the brain, the heart, the immune system, sleep, cancer and death. The Body: A Guide for Occupants makes the reader focus on the miracle of what it is to be human and how most of the time our very complex bodies run smoothly. We don’t tend to think about them so our awareness of their sophistication is very much suppressed, it’s in the background. “There is darkness, revelation and hope. There is inspiration” He anchors his chapters in talks with experts. He also brings in these little snippets about the lives of individuals who made key advances, like the German biochemist Adolf Butenandt who liked fencing without wearing protective equipment and, as a consequence, had a jagged scar across his cheek of which he was very proud. It has sets of black-and-white photographs that give a feel for the history of advances in medicine and the individuals who made the contribution. It’s an invaluable handbook. It can be read straight through or dipped into."