The human body is a marvel of a paradox. Inanimate matter that has no conscious, creates miracles of life such as animated humans. Humans are both extremely fragile and extremely resilient. With so many opportunities and things which can kill a human, humans still survive. Healthy living may increase the chances of longer life but it does not guarantee an escape from potential dangers. What we know about what makes the human body is very little in comparison to how much we do not know. Problem is not just the complexity of life but also a lack of research and funding into the many things that make a human body go.

Although each human share 99% of DNA, people are still different. From the way each human smells odors and tastes food, to the different immunity systems. Each person has many different microbes of which many have never been registered. Bacteria evolve to resist antibiotics, with the antibiotics killing good bacteria as well. Because of antibiotics, people have less diverse microbes. Even tears have antimicrobial chemicals which fight pathogens. Part of the reason why people get fevers is that heat kills off pathogens, but people do not stay hot because it would require too much energy. Everyone’s immune system is different and responds to a host of factors such as state of mind and toxins. Although it requires endless work to protect humans from limitless things, the error rate for the immune system is really low. Sometimes the immune system does attack innocent cells.

Everything we know about the world comes from an organ that has never seem the world. The brain creates what is seen by interpreting electrical signals. Seeing is not as important as making sense from what is seen. Curiously, nonmammalian creatures have more color acuity so live in a visually richer world.

Fears of death have changed from communicable diseases to other maladies. Lifestyle is the major cause of the problems humans have. Evolution gave us bodies for a different purpose. As more people live to old age, problems that primarily occur at old age have become more common. Food has become abundant which causes a rise in weight. Weight puts more pressure on the bones which cause suffering over time. Nutrition is the reason why puberty is earlier now than before. Overfed but nutritionally deficient as many of the things humans eat are not the things humans need.

Bryson tells of what is known about the human body, and all the things that science still can not explain about it. Along the way the stories and history behind discoveries and the personalities responsible are told. Besides the complexity of trying to identify what each microbe and hormone does, they may do multiple things in the body. Medications are not panacea and can have problems when used in combination with other medication. Doctors do not always have the best interest of the patient as they are influenced by profit making via getting paid by drug companies.

This book is eloquently written but there are a few caveats to this book. Caveat 1: Each chapter contains many different things about something that makes up a human, which makes it hard for those unfamiliar with the topics. Caveat 2: Although expressing complexity does a wonderful job at showing what is missing, sometimes Byrson does not discuss some methods or ideas in depth either because they are political as there is no consensus, or because there was not enough space, or maybe the topic is just that complicated. ( )

A fun book about the human body and it's parts and processes. The author goes into enough detail to be useful, but avoids getting mired in too much minutia. Definitely recommend. ( )

BIBLIOGRAPHIC DETAILS
(Print: 1/1/2019; 978-0857522405; Doubleday; 448 pages.)
Audio: 10/15/2019; 9780147526946; Penguin Random House Audio Publishing Group; Duration: 14:11:39
(Film: No)

SUMMARY/EVALUATION:
I listened to Bill’s “At Home” a couple of months ago and at that point put him on the “read everything written” list.
This is an interesting topic, and while I would like to find non-fiction audiobooks devoted to each topic he’s covered here, I suspect they would not be nearly as interesting, or fun, to listen to.
So, did you know that when someone is “in good humor”, the phrase initially did not mean that s/he was in a good mood, but that all four humors (black bile, yellow bile, blood, and phlegm) were in good working order (which would indeed lead to a good mood)? Or, that when a lady hits menopause, it’s not because she has run out of eggs? Did you know that you are not the only one that sees tiny white short strand-like dancing dots when you look into the blue sky? That’s called the "Blue Field Entopic Phenomenon", or better, “blue-sky-sprites”. It’s caused by white blood cells passing in front of your retina. You don’t see the red cells because the color blue cancels out the color red….or, I guess scientists like to say one color absorbs the other--something like that, but I like my version better. The entire book is that interesting, IMAGINE! Or better yet, read it. ( )

I love Bill Bryson for his humor. This book didn't disappoint. Just enough technical mumbo-jumbo about the body to understand without having to be in the medical profession. Sprinkled throughout with interesting tidbits and stories. ( )

You know, this was an interesting read generally, lots of factoids and snapshots of the people involved in our current understanding of the body. However, I felt throughout like Bryson was trying really hard to write a "Bill Bryson" book about the body that would rival A Short History of Nealy Everything and I can't help but feel like it came up short. I'm glad I read it, partially because it gives a good sense for how much baloney is out there masquerading as knowledge and also because it makes one appreciate having access to a 21st Century approach to medicine (imperfect as it may be). ( )