My thanks to both NetGalley and the publisher Chronicle Books for a copy of this new medical based history of the world.

Learning can be fun, but many people feel that fun is just not learning, that history is a series of facts dates and this person did this and this person did that and here is why. I have heard many things about Martin Luther, but not that he probably came up with many of his ideas for his theses in the bathroom due to stomach problems. Or that the jaw of Charles II jutted out so much from inbreeding that it might have helped end the Hapsburg line in Spain. The book A History of the World Through Body Parts: The Stories Behind the Organs, Appendages, Digits, and the Like Attached to (or Detached from) Famous Bodies by Kathryn Petras and Ross Petras teaches alot about history in a interesting new way.

The book is broken down into roughly 27 chapters each focusing on a human body part and chronologically progresses through history starting from our earliest ancestors using their hand in art to the modern day. The chapters are not long, dealing with a famous person or an event with a body part, and a subsection detailing more of a historical perspective to the chapter. Readers learn about the importance of not only health, but appearances and belief behind certain rituals involving the body and hot that affected the history of the world, and also that small segment that people lived in.

The chapters follow a theme, and are all well written and easy to read and follow. Humor is tough and to make something not only entertaining and enlightening is difficult but the Petras have not problem with this at all. No cheap jokes, which would have been easy, but writing that makes the reader think quite abit about events, while smiling and flipping pages.

Recommended for people who like their history a little different, or with that Uncle John books were a little longer, and consistent in their humor. A great gift for Father's Day, but also a great gift for people who like both medical and world history and never thought of the two subjects together.

A quick, enjoyable read that delivers interesting tidbits bits of historical trivia through the lens of different body parts throughout history. I found the “head to toes” format a fun addition to the book as well!

This book was great. What an interesting topic. The book was laid out really well and flowed nicely.

I enjoyed this more than I thought I would! I learned lots about important people and events in history, things I’d never heard of in 20 years of life and 15 of schooling. The formatting is also really beautiful, I’m sure this makes a lovely hardback. My only complaint is that some references (selfies, COVID being referenced in the current, Snapchat, etc) may age the book poorly.

I thought this would be a more detailed look at the body parts and history so I was slightly disappointed at how simple and short the chapters were. Still, that doesn't mean I didn't end up enjoying the book and it does make for an easy read. The text was very conversational and it made me go "oh, I never thought of that" (especially the last chapter)

A really interesting dip into a side of history not typically explored. I enjoyed this book and found it, overall, quite engaging. My interest waned a bit at times but, overall, very well done and a joy to read.

A History of the World Through Body Parts was a fun dive into history through the lesser used scope of human bodies themselves. From craniums to bound feet, this book explored how historic events were (or could have been) influenced by human bodies and what genetics and lives do to them. This was a fun, quick but informative read with facts and anecdotes to keep the reader engaged. Amazing book!

Kathryn Petra and brother Ross Petra may be well known for their “word nerd” books, but that is about to change. Their newest offering presents a chronological arrangement of famous people from around the world, and the influence specific parts of their body had on their fame. Whether it be the sphere of religion, politics, government, medicine, art, or writing, the historical influence of one's nose, jaw, and spine are represented along with the penis, breast, and bladder. Cleopatra's nose was beautiful to Julius Caesar, the Hapsburg nose was the harbinger of the demise of the Hapsburgs in Spain, and the bladder was/is a concern for both knights in armor and astronauts. Like now, writers and artists used their talents to improve the appearance or public image of the powers that be, and thus gain favor. The tone of the book is conversational, the contents are informative, the table of contents clearly states the subject of the chapter, and the resources are arranged by chapter. Great choice for those who appreciate a bit of anatomy with their history, and I highly recommend to all who are looking for a new slant on world history. Thank you to Chronicle Books and netgalley for the opportunity to read this selection.

4.5 rounded up
Fun and informative book. Well researched. Thanks to Netgalley for the opportunity to read this book

*Provided a free copy in exchange for an honest review.*

The History of the World Through Body Parts is exactly what its title says it is. It is a general history of body parts (types and parts from specific people) through human history. It covers everything from prehistoric cave paintings of hands and Hatshepsut's beard to Harriet Tubman's brain and Lenin's skin. In several instances it contends that certain people's body parts may have even altered the course of history.

I am so happy I got a chance to read this book. This is without a doubt one of my new favorite non-fiction titles. It manages to pack a lot of history into the compact chapters for each part that they mention. This is well written and well researched (in my opinion). I absolutely flew through this and I loved every minute of the reading experience. The authors make each topic genuinely interesting and informative. I don't know if they authors have any other books but I would 100% read from them again. Highly recommend for all non-fiction fans and all fans of history.

I've been having a really hard time downloading this title. It's been refusing to go on any device I've got Adobe Digital Editions on with the exception of a really old tablet. Unfortunately, the tablet runs poorly, so I haven't really been able to dive into this book like I've wanted to. That being said, what I've been able to see so far is absolutely fascinating. It takes on human history though the body parts of some of its most famous inhabitants--George Washington's teeth, Tamerlane's leg, Harriet Tubman's brain, for example. It's a premise unlike any I've come across (history is my former profession) and I'm completely intrigued. Clear, engaging writing as well. So though I haven't had an optimal reading experience with this, I'd recommend this title and I'm looking forward to the release date so I can read it in full.

An easy but informative read full of historical trivia from different points in time throughout the world. The type design is especially well-executed.

Super interesting book about different bodies around the world throughout history. The book also explains how different cultural practices shape our bodies. This book had a bunch of different mini stories which made it an easy and enjoyable read.

This book is fascinating! Although I may never use that word again now that I know its origin. The book includes 27 relatively brief, chronological snippets of history, each having to do with a different body part of a historical figure. The conversational and somewhat acerbic writing style made it easy and fun to read, and I learned a lot about history that I wasn't familiar with. I wish there had been images included to visualize what was being discussed. The content is not really appropriate for younger audiences (high school or earlier) given some of the topics and the graphic descriptions. The fact that it's broken up into bite-size pieces made it easy to pick up and put down during brief free moments. Highly recommend to those with an interest in history and looking for intriguing stories to share with others. I need to check out more from this sibling writing team.

I was provided a free advance reader's copy of this book in exchange for an honest review.

I found this to be a fascinating read. I however, think the topics are a bit to adult for my high school students. I could maybe pick and choose a few of the stories in my anatomy class. The book itself is well organized and so interesting.

My head is slumped down upset at my, too quick to get to this, book love issue with this. I love love love “Chronicle Books” and I love this type of book so when I saw it in the “read now” section I got super excited. Due to not having a place to live I’ve turned to using my kindle for all books………….except for books like this and another similar, which I have from NetGalley, I highly prefer print because books like this are too awesome not to have physically in hand and for displaying where anyone will see it as a conversation starter.

Well, head lowered, wearing frown, kicking myself and bummed……..I clicked “read now”, went to click on “send to kindle” aaaaand there wasn’t a send to kindle option. In my excitement I failed to look. To add to my homelessness, my vision is super super poor from a head injury so reading on anything except an ereader like my paperwhite, Oasis or a print book, hurts too much. I’m so sorry to Chronicle Books and to NetGalley for not seeing this before I clicked “read now”. I even tried to download to get a little look inside, but all that downloaded was a black screen with the ISBN and the file size. Nothing else anywhere to be found. 😩 I even went to Amazon devices and content hoping the doc might have made its way there………nope 😑

I want to thank both Chronicle Books and NetGalley for this opportunity. All I can add…….again…….is 😩 Since I can’t post this without a rating I’m going to go with the five star for the fantastic cover and description alone. Cover love and description for those who love random and not so random cool and unusual facts and trivia. Thank you again for the op. My mistake