The Body by Bill Bryson

The Body

A Guide for Occupants

Bill Bryson

Knopf Doubleday Publishing Group · Print & ebook · January 26, 2021

NEW YORK TIMES BESTSELLER • A must-read owner’s manual for every body.

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Who it’s for
A lucid, lightly wry guide that makes anatomy feel readable instead of intimidating.
Themes
human body, science, healing
Pacing
Steady

About this book

NEW YORK TIMES BESTSELLER • A must-read owner’s manual for every body. Take a head-to-toe tour of the marvel that is the human body in this “delightful, anecdote-propelled read” (The Boston Globe) from the author of A Short History of Nearly Everything. With a new Afterword.

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“You will marvel at the brilliance and vast weirdness of your design." —The Washington Post 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.

Inside the Body

A lucid, lightly wry guide that makes anatomy feel readable instead of intimidating.

Come here for

  • clear, curious tour of the body
  • plainspoken explanations with a dry edge

Expect

  • big systems made surprisingly legible
  • reference-friendly, but pleasant to keep reading

Where it sits

How the Human Body Works77%
Biology38%
Health & Medicine Humor33%

Percentages are BookFrontier’s reading of the book.

Publisher categories

  • Health & Wellness
  • Health & Medicine Humor
  • How the Human Body Works
Authors
Bill Bryson
Publisher
Knopf Doubleday Publishing Group
Published
January 26, 2021
Format
Print & ebook
Theme
human body · science · healing
Reading lane
Health & Wellness