I can’t believe Ive gone this long without reading a Mary Roach book—and now I have to go out and read them all! This was both extremely detailed and highly entertaining, and it takes a very talented writer to achieve this. I put Mary Roach in the same category as Bill Bryson, which is my highest possible praise.

In Replaceable You, the author tells you more than you ever thought you wanted to learn about transplanting and creating and growing human body parts. This does not sound at all appealing to me, and I read this purely on reviews of the author’s previous works. I am so glad I did, and I urge you to do the same. And don’t skip the footnotes!

I was so excited to see this new title by Mary Roach: she's an auto-read author for me. Like Mary's other books, Replaceable You is so full of incredible knowledge, presented in a way that makes it easy and fun to absorb. In this book, she delivers really intense information that allows a squeamish reader to sit with the book ... yes, she writes about skin grafting, but it's palatable. So glad I was able to read an advanced copy of this book. For readers looking to get into Mary Roach, I suggest starting with 'Stiff' and 'Spook', then reading replaceable you and her others. Super educational, Super approachable. Thank you to the publisher and NetGalley for the eARC.

This is the first book I have read by Mary Roach and it likely won't be my last. As someone with a background within science, specifically health science, Roach explains the procedures and concepts of this book in a way that makes it easy for the lay person to understand, but doesn't make the science buff cringe. She also has away of connecting you to the people within the stories where you get a sense of who they are. Her usage of analogies also serves to provide a clearer picture of what is happening in the book, specifically in the chapter on tissue donation.

As for the content of the book, I found it interesting to see what exactly can be accomplished by utilizing other tissues from the body and what can masquerade as what. I also appreciate how Roach doesn't shy away from more difficult or stigmatized procedures or subject matter such as ostomies and plastic surgeries. While Roach's description is humourous, it is never insulting or snobbish. The only chapter I would have liked to see added to the book was the use of machines or non-biological body parts in replacing our own "pieces." Such as pacemakers, insulin pumps, etc. Indeed, the only chapter present that was of similar content was the one on prosthetics. However, the book was still highly enjoyable and informative!

I really enjoy Mary Roach explaining science! I love her sense of humor and the way she injects so much personality into nonfiction. I also love the quirky and unusual topics she chooses to tackle. They are always timely and informative but also weird and unusual and highly entertaining, and this time around was no exception. It's a fast read full of all of the odd and quirky facts and anecdotes readers of her other books have come to expect and love, and I really enjoyed it!

This woman's books are never dull, meticulously and relentlessly researched, and full of facts you'd never find in the average high school science textbook. I always learn something new when I read a Mary Roach book. And don't skip the footnotes- they are hilarious.

Another well-researched and approachable book from Roach! I’ve been a fan since Stiff and have seen the author present before, so Replaceable You was high on the new release list for me. Roach does a great job of putting research into layman’s terms while interweaving her own humor and observations. If you’ve wanted to see behind the headlines of organ replacements, this is the book. Roach talks to the experts that can pull back the curtain and show how far we’ve come, and also how much further we have yet to develop this field.

Replaceable You is a layman’s science journalism nonfiction focusing on the multiple aspects of body parts replacement. Fortunately for the non-STEM readers, she simplifies the science, making it understandable, engaging, and fascinating, and even intersperses humor. Highly recommend!
Thank you to NetGalley and W.W. Norton & Company for giving me the opportunity to read this excellent galley.

Mary Roach explores replacements for human parts, and sprinkles humor into the science she shares. Her approach is hands on as she tries out an iron lung, observes an organ donor being dismantled, and tags along with a group of ophthalmologists performing cataract surgery in remote parts of Mongolia.

Every chapter was fascinating and fun, and each topic was explained in a clear and accessible way with a look at history and cutting edge science. Roach approached with each topic with curiosity and empathy, never losing sight of the human factors as she befriended amputees and ostomates. By the end, I found myself grateful for all parts, even the imperfect ones.

I voluntarily read and reviewed an advanced copy of this book. All thoughts and opinions are my own.

Thanks to W.W. Norton & Company for providing an Advance Reader Copy via NetGalley.

Thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for an advanced copy in exchange for an honest review.

As a die-hard Mary Roach fan, I was so happy to get approved for an advanced copy of her new book. Her books are always a joy to read, and I love that she has the guts to ask these poor scientists anything and everything. It seems like nothing freaks her out, and though the subject of this book made me more squeamish than any of her other books so far (blame my weak constitution in the face of any and all medical procedures), she writes with such humor and curiosity that it's infectious- you can't help but laugh a little and keep turning the page.

From what I would (wrongly) classify as more external things like the first prosthetic noses, prosthetic limbs, and colostomy bags, to complex state-of-the-art developments in skin grafting, xenotransplantation (humans with animal [pig, mostly] organs or pigs growing human-esque organs), vaginoplasty/phalloplasty, 3D printing organs, and stem cell research, to things in between such as cosmetic and cataract surgeries, hair loss treatments, even the process of intubation- I learned something fascinating in every chapter.

One of the people Mary meets in Mongolia while working with people teaching cataract surgery methods is fondly referred to with a nickname incorporating "Wikipedia" because of his propensity to tell everyone facts about eyeballs. After reading this book I will need a similar nickname because my god- I get it, dude! I absolutely couldn't wait to tell my partner all of this stuff. And my sister works in cornea donation- at the end Mary attends an organ donor recovery (which included corneas) and you bet I spammed her with questions after reading that.

Despite the dark nature of her books, Mary always approaches things respectfully and with awe. As she writes in the end, the real miracles here are not even the sci-fi level replacement parts these people are researching, but in the OG, run-of-the-mill human body itself. It always surprises me how much we either don't know about the world or how impossible it proves to recreate, even if we think we know a lot about something (enamel, muscle tissue, the sphincter, tears ...).

If you are a fan of Bill Bryson's The Body: A Guide for Occupants, or Roach's previous book Stiff: The Curious Lives of Human Cadavers then you would definitely enjoy this. Because this book reminded me that humans are animals, too, and animal bodies are just out there doing miraculous stuff every day that we barely understand, I would argue that you would love this if you love The Gecko's Foot: Bio-inspiration: Engineering New Materials from Nature, too.

Overall definitely would recommend if you want a laugh and to learn something, even if you are squeamish like me.

I have been a fan of Mary Roach for longer than I care to admit. After all, never ask a man his salary or a woman how many books she’s been around to see an author publish. A podcast I like talks about books that give you a case of didjaknowitis. This is what happens when you are reading a book and you cannot stop saying to people, “hey did YOU know?” And you can tell this is a primo quality Mary Roach experience because oh boy did I have didjaknowitis real bad. I was texting my friends, I was chasing my boyfriend around the apartment.

If you have already spent time on the Mary Roach train you know exactly what you’re in for, and if you liked your time there, buckle up. If not, you know what you like and this is probably not for you. It’s not a marked departure from her past work.

If you haven’t yet spent time on the Mary Roach train, allow me to introduce you to Mary Roach, a woman who is just like us, but who has the...gumption? Attitude? Chutzpah? To take her curiosity where the rest of us only dream of. She goes to the cutting edge of science, and then follows the scientists around, badgering them with the questions we only dream of asking. Or offering herself up as a human guinea pig. Anyway, this is not some popular science book written by someone on the sidelines. Mary Roach is in it to win it. Her down to try anything once, can do attitude is why her books are so good. You can start here or anywhere if you think that sounds interesting.

Recommended for fans of National Geographic, the podcast Sawbones, and anyone who likes dropping unhinged facts at a cocktail party.
I received an arc in exchange for this honest review.
Will post and add links closer to pub date.

As always, Mary Roach delivers. This was a fascinating and entertaining read. Roach is a great teacher who makes hard to understand concepts clear (and funny!). I've learned so much from her books and truly appreciate her remarkable, inquisitive mind, sense of humor, and authenticity. Thanks to the Net Galley and the publisher for opportunity to read and review.

If you like Mary Roach's books, she has done it again. If you haven't read a Mary Roach book they are fun, accessible and winding explorations through history and social sciences about whatever topic she is writing about. Good for long drives with family too or for younger folks who are interested in nonfiction.

This newest by Roach reports on a series of interviews combined with research on replacement of ous body parts and its operating systems. Each chapter is more interesting than the one before. My favorite is the one about ventilation devices that take over lung work when the body can’t do it. Anyone who reads about iron lungs will surely advocate voraciously for the polio vaccine. The chapter about intubation with the lesson about our epiglottis switching station is alone worth the time/cost of reading this book. Roach participated in a training class where she intubated a dummy, just one of the close encounters experienced during the research for this book.

Don’t be deterred by the scientific and technical languages. For those interested in digesting all the words, the writing is clear & straightforward.

If you want to learn all about frog skin grafting and elephant tusk hip implants, this book is for you. When it comes to prosthetic body parts, you might not want to know if a surgery falls in your near future. Roach is a masterful wordsmith. Her signature humor comes through in this book, big time! Thank you to #NetGalley and to #W. W. Norton and Company, publisher, for providing a complimentary eARC in exchange for an objective review.

A history and more of the developments in medical/surgical history of replacing absent or nonfunctional parts. Some of the chapters are: Noses (much needed WW1), skin (grafts not only for burns), finger microsurgery, from Iron Lung to ventilator, eyes (from contacts to prostheses), implants, an assortment of limb prostheses, and more. She documents interviews and observing with surgeons all over the world with humor and respect. Another excellent offering from this author!
I requested and received a temporary uncorrected digital galley from W. W. Norton & Company via NetGalley. Pub Date Sep 16, 2025 ***** #review #bookbub @goodreads #storygraph #librarything
#ReplaceableYou by @authormaryroach @w.w.norton
#Nonfiction #Science #Medical #Health #Humor #Biology #Adult #Medicine #History #surgicaladvances #ScienceNature #humananatomy #meticulousresearch #duediligence

Once again, Mary Roach brings humor to a dry topic. She visits a variety of experts, even participating when possible (hair transplants on her leg!).

Mary Roach’s Replaceable You is a wildly entertaining and strangely heartwarming dive into the bizarre world of regenerative anatomy. With her signature wit and endless curiosity, Roach explores everything from brass-crafted noses and pig hearts to stem-cell organs and 3D-printed body parts. You’ll visit a burn unit in Boston, a “xeno-pigsty” in China, and even tag along through the disassembly of a tissue donor—yes, 1950s-style iron lungs included. Roach's latest is Informative and genuinely surreal—classic Roach at her finest.

Thank you to #WWNorton and #NetGalley for the DRC of #ReplaceableYou. The opinions expressed here are entirely my own.

I love Mary Roach! I've read most of her books and she never disappoints. This time around she digs into the bio-medical industry, focusing on "replacement parts" for the human body - from skin grafts and animal organs to artificial limbs and plastic surgery. Roach grounds each chapter in history and brings the reader along to the current practice and technology. Even if you're not medical or science minded, it's really quite interesting.

Roach has done enough research for her other books to have decent medical/biological knowledge and she approached every subject with the openness to learn and understand. But what she really does well is write in a way that is factual, but easy to understand, while also being funny.

Mary Roach has a true gift for turning even the most esoteric scientific research into fun, accessible information sure to spark anyone's love of discovery. She is an important voice in science advocacy, showing how scientific studies, which sound silly or useless, can provide important information capable of providing meaningful improvements to our lives. "Replaceable You" focuses on the ways scientists have found to replace human body parts, such as teeth, skin, organs, and hair. It is a fascinating read!

A disgusting and fascinating look at the ways scientists and doctors have tried to replace various body parts.

3 🌟 non-fiction science book detailing medical advancements over the past century that have attempted to replicate and replace different parts of the human body, from hair follicle transplants to prostheses.

This book was pretty good, an elementary look at different medical advancements and the human anatomy. If you are someone without a medical background, this novel will still be easy to read and understand. As someone who works in the medical field, I was a bit underwhelmed, but did still learn some interesting tidbits.