I learned so much from this book. One of the things I learned was that continuing to learn and keeping my brain active will help me avoid dementia, so you should read this book, too. I flagged many, many pages, so I’ll just offer a few highlights here.

The most interesting thing was reading about our skin, the tiny tiny layer that we makes us white or black or brown. Bryson watched a surgeon incise and peel back a sliver of skin a millimeter thick from the arm of cadaver. It was so thin it was translucent. That’s what race is. Which is why it’s so ridiculous that such a small facet of our composition should be given so much importance when it’s merely a reaction to sunlight. “Biologically, there is no such thing as race—nothing in terms of skin color, facial features, hair type, bone structure, or anything else that is a defining quality among peoples.”

Skins gets its color from a variety of pigments, the best known is a molecule we know as melanin. It’s also responsible for the color of birds’ feathers and gives fish the texture and luminescence of the their scales. Our skin evolved based on our geography.

A lot of myths I grew up with are not true. Like the fact we only use ten percent of our brain--false. I was taught as a kid that different parts of the tongue were attuned to different tastes like salty, sweet, sour. Nope. Also, like the movie the Matrix, apparently when I eat a brownie straight from the oven, it doesn’t actually taste good, my brain just reads these scentless, flavorless molecules and makes me think they’re pleasurable.

In one of the studies he talks about, a man was given an injection of a harmless liquid to mimic snot. It couldn’t be seen by the naked eye, but under those blue lights detectives use. The test subject went into a room with other folks, and when they turned the overhead lights off and the blue lights on, every single person, doorknob, and bowl of nuts had the pretend snot on it, which is how the common cold passes from person to person so easily—through touch, apparently not by making out with someone (although presumably at some point you might touch that person).

Antibiotics
• Almost 3/4ths of prescriptions written each year are for conditions that can’t be cured with antibiotics (like bronchitis)
• 80 percent of antibiotics are fed to farm animals to fatten them up which meat eaters then consume, which is one of the reasons antibiotics aren’t as effective as they used to be.
• Fruit growers use antibiotics to combat bacterial infections in their crops, sometimes even of produce mar ked “organic.” Which means we humans are unwittingly eating antibiotics, rendering them ineffective when we need them for a real disease/infection.

There’s a lot more interesting stuff in here. Thanks so much to NetGalley for the opportunity to read this book, which RELEASES OCTOBER 15, 2019.

In his Bill Bryson breezy prose, the author has chosen the human body as the subject for this tome and because that’s just the way he writes, it’s eminently readable - and enjoyable. I found myself saying Huh or outright laughing on many occasions. For instance, “Ollivere gently incised and peeled back a sliver of skin about a millimeter thick from the arm of a cadaver. It was so thin as to be translucent. ‘That,’ he said, ‘is where all your skin color is. That’s all that race is —a sliver of epidermis.’” That got a Huh from me when I first read it and another Huh as I reread it just now.

When he divulges information, he adds a example that we can relate to illustrate his point. For instance when he tells us that the region of the forebrain is associated with pleasure which grows to its largest size in teen years. “That is why the sensations you feel as a teenager are more intense than at any other time of life. But it also means that seeking pleasure is an occupational hazard for teenagers.” Instantly I thought of my son and the impulsive things he had done with bad outcomes. And I had to read that part out loud to my husband. In fact, I had to read out loud to him on several occasions. I’m sure he’s glad I’ve finished the book.

There are factoids scattered though the chapters, like how MSG got it’s bad reputation. We read about the rise in diabetes throughout the world which probably comes as a surprise to no one. But who knew that that type I diabetes in Finland has risen 550 percent since 1950 and continues to rise almost every where else at a rate of 3-5 percent. No one knows why. Huh!
Or that people who had their tonsils removed while young have a 55% great chance of having a heart attack in later life. Really?!!

I thoroughly enjoyed this book, as I do all of Bryson’s books, and if you’re wondering how a book on the human body could be engaging, take my word for it. It is.

Read if you: Are a Bill Bryson fan, and/or are fascinated by the inner workings of the human body.

Through Bryson’s trademark passion for his subject, deft writing, humor, and sensitivity, you will gain a greater awe and appreciation for all your systems and parts. From your eyes, to your heart, your reproductive organs, diseases that can befall you, and finally, the “grand exit,” Bryson uncovers amazing, unique, and sometimes uncomfortable facts about the human body.

Many thanks to Netgalley and Doubleday for a digital review copy in exchange for an honest review.

I find the human body fascinating and I've read everything by Bill Bryson so my expectations for this book were high. Luckily it did not disappoint.

In his latest, Bryson navigates us around the human body. He tells us how it functions, but more entertainingly, he tells us how we know what we know - or don't know. He humanizes science with a look at the people who have pushed it forward and stunted its progression. His wit and tone make this an interesting and humorous study of the human body.

My first Bryson book was A Walk in the Woods. It was hilarious, all the while sneaking in some education. I went to read almost everything he has in print. So when I saw this title on my ARC list, I was pretty excited, even though human anatomy might be my least favorite subject.
I could hold my own now if I needed to critique a television medical drama from the knowledge I gained in reading this ginormous 400-page tome of humanness. It's a partial history of science and part straight-up anatomy.
It's the owner's manual that no one has thought to hand out. Only this isn't some hard to understand volume; it's in plain English. I didn't take Anatomy at school and the only text I've encountered while homeschooling was nowhere near as readable as this is. If you are a science geek, you'll devour this. If you are a Bryson fan, he'll drag you into being interested, and if you wanted to use this as a high school science text, I'd support you. I'm probably going to make it required reading at our house.

The Body
by Bill Bryson

Oh Bill Bryson, how I do love your writing! I have been a fan since reading "A Short History of Nearly Everything". My husband and I were so into this book and the discussions it inspired, that we read it together at the dining room table, only turning the page when the other was ready. I recommend reading Bryson's books this way, or you can drive others in the room crazy, through repeated interjections of, "Wow! Did you know....?!" This book is no exception.

In his typical approachable style, Bryson takes facts, trivia, and gossipy asides and weaves them together into page-turning books. The Body takes the reader on a journey through the body's smallest parts (DNA, bacteria, cells) to its largest features (skin, bones, intestines).

As I am a prolific consumer of health material, many of the larger points were not new to me. It was the back story that I found quite often to be revelatory. I love the books by Mary Roach and Mr. Bryson referenced her works a few times. In my opinion, her body books surpassed "The Body", but mainly because she took one function and thoroughly investigated it. This book felt a bit rushed in sections. The reproductive section seemed especially light. Was the author embarrassed or running out of time?

Despite the very few shortcomings, I enjoyed this book and recommend it - and all of Bryson's earlier works, too!

Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for the eARC in exchange for an unbiased review.

I loved this book. I was so surprised to find myself laughing through much of it. Bill Bryson is an amazing writer. He made this science book about the human body an fun look at the science of how it works! Recommend this to every one!

Bill Bryson’s “The Body” is a sprightly and vastly entertaining work of popular science, so much fun to read that I can’t imagine anyone except Bryson pulling it off. It’s also a staggering research work, with more than 350 endnotes and dozens of professional consultants in multiple countries. “The Body: A Guide for Occupants” is difficult for a curious reader to progress through at anything approaching a decent clip because every paragraph invites further study.

While reading it, I researched further on brain death, breast milk, digestion, smallpox and at least a dozen other subjects. I also looked up several historical figures whose profiles appear in the book due to their (often overlooked) contributions to science. I was stunned at the number of misconceptions I hold about this body that I inhabit and how to care for it, and also marveled at the problems plaguing humanity which I thought that medical science had partially or entirely solved, about which doctors are still more or less clueless. I ended up in possession of my first issue of Scientific American to read articles on early puberty and female reproductive medicine.

I expect that experts will find plenty to quibble with considering the broad range of subjects, but Bryson isn’t trying to write the definitive work on any biological or anatomical subject area. However, between this book and Googling reliable sources, the lay reader will get a good overview of biology and related subjects such as immunology and nutrition. I plan to purchase it for handy personal reference—how else to mark it up and stuff it full of additional citations, and work back and forth between chapters and endnotes? I understand Bryson is the narrator of the audiobook as well. Irresistible.

I finished the book with a sense of awe and gratitude just to be alive and inhabiting such an amazing vehicle. Then I walked a couple of miles.

In previous books, Bill Bryson has taught his readers about history and science and has acted as a tour guide in places ranging from Australia to America. In this book, he's wearing both hats – teaching us about science and taking us on a tour … of the human body. While chock full of facts, some fascinating, some tedious and some even repulsive, Bryson doesn't forget that many of us read to be entertained, even when we're learning something.

I have enjoyed most of this author's books and was excited to get a chance to read this and learn what I could about the human body. Other than keeping the body I currently occupy functioning as well as possible as the years go by, I haven't given much thought to the body since my biology classes back in junior high school, which was a long time ago. Covering topics from the brain to the immune system to the skeleton to nerves, pain, and more, this book is written in almost a conversational style, although the reports of studies on one subject or another and the discussions of the origin of certain terms and theories got tedious from time to time. Fortunately, those sections didn't go on and on, which made the book much easier to read. I look forward to learning the subject of Mr. Bryson's next book.

An excellent companion to A Brief History of Nearly Everything. This time Bryson takes on the human body. Through his insightful research and great technique he brings you into biology and you learn more about the human body then you thought possible.

Everything about the Body you'd ever want to know! And told in such fascinating pieces that even those who have little interest in anatomy will find this book interesting and those who love anatomy are sure to find it fascinating and discover information they were unaware of!

Bryson has done it again. With his wit and attention to detail, he dives into pretty much every part of the body. If you are a fan of Bill Bryson (who isn't) you'll enjoy this look into yourself. It doesn't have the encyclopedic depth of A Short History of Nearly Everything, which isn't all bad, It's just enough to teach you a little, but not nearly enough to use for a an entire course.

Bryson is always intelligent, quirky, and entertaining and The Body is all of that. He takes often dry factual material and enlivens it. The organization of the book, by body sections and systems, is clear. His interjection of strange stories about the personalities and lives of some significant medical researchers adds to the fun.

The very last chapters are somewhat different. Instead of describing physiological facts, he begins talking about the health care systems in different countries. He compares death rates, death causes, number of tests run, and of course, cost. Some might find this off-putting but it seemed to me to be germane when talking about the body.

He ends naturally enough by talking about dying and again discusses different death experiences according to various factors. All in all, a book that informs but holds your attention and encourages pondering. Thanks to the publisher and to Net Galley for providing me with an ARC in exchange for my honest review.

As always, Bill Bryson has authored a fun book. This title is for you if you want a quick journey through the body filled with serious explanations (but not too long and serious) and amazing random facts about human physiology.. Although those facts often don't really serve to illuminate, that is not the point. The point is to also entertain.

I received a free copy of this book from Net Gallery in exchange for an honest review.
Bill Bryson is one of our most prolific writers, and each book he writes seem different than his previous ones.
In this book, he talks about the human body, and how it heals itself.
Even though this is a serious book about the human body, he writes in a very funny way.
A must read

I wasn't big on the sciences in school, but Bill Bryson has written a book that keeps me turning pages and taking notes to talk about with everyone! Parts may make you squeamish, but 2 paragraphs later you will be laughing out loud! I see this as Christmas gifts this year! Enjoy!

At the beginning, I was a bit overwhelmed by the waterfall of facts descending upon me, but once I settled into his style, I really enjoyed this. Besides the abundance of facts about human anatomy, a subject I felt I needed to learn more about, there’s fascinating medical history and biographical information about pioneers in the field of medicine. What struck me most in this book is that so many discoveries and theories that are common knowledge today were initially rejected. Scientists whose ideas were initially met with scorn were later awarded Nobel prizes. Another rather chilling recurring theme of the book is how little we know about the body, aging, and diseases, even in this modern age when we’re supposed to have it all figured out (right?).
His notes and bibliography at the end are impressive, and I plan to use the latter as a source for future reading material.
There’s a lot of territory to cover, so nothing is terribly in-depth, but the book is an interesting, thought-provoking overview of what we know so far about what makes us tick.

This was fairly good; pretty standard Bryson. There were plenty of chuckles, and lots of OH MY GOD SERIOUSLY? I don't think the bar is high for that, because the body is wow no matter what. But one of Bryson's serious talents is to distill big things down to understandable chunks, and he definitely succeeds in that here.

But also, there is a LOT LOT LOT of fatphobia in this book. Like so much I *almost* put it down. So I don't know, if you're triggered by that, definitely avoid this.

*I was given an advanced copy of this title via NetGalley in exchange for an honest review*

What can I say about Bill Bryson that hasn't already been said? He's a wonderful author with an amazingly articulate and witty voice. This particular book is jam-packed with facts, to the point where I had to read it one chapter at a time or my brain would get overwhelmed. It's a dense book and might be a slow read, but Bryson's voice gives it life in a way that other authors would lose my interest. He keeps it witty and engaging the entire time.

This book didn't hold my interest, I'm sorry to say. I didn't finish. If you're studying anatomy and want a "Cliff Notes" version of the body, this book is for you.