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18th out of 49 books
—
3 voters
The Spark of Life: Electricity in the Human Body
What happens during a heart attack? Can someone really die of fright? What is death, anyway? How does electroshock treatment affect the brain? What is consciousness? The answers to these questions lie in the electrical signals constantly traveling through our bodies, driving our thoughts, our movements, and even the beating of our hearts.
The history of how scientists disco...more
The history of how scientists disco...more
Hardcover, 340 pages
Published
September 24th 2012
by W. W. Norton & Company
(first published May 1st 2012)
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THE SPARK OF LIFE: Electricity in the Human Body. (2012). Frances Ashcroft. *****.
The author is a scientist and a professor of physiology at the University of Oxford. This is probably the most interesting and well-written book on this topic that I have ever read. The author has managed to provide the reader with an overview of her topic that doesn’t leave you dazed and confused and, in addition, goes beyond the specifics to provide relative information on allied fields of research. She does man...more
The author is a scientist and a professor of physiology at the University of Oxford. This is probably the most interesting and well-written book on this topic that I have ever read. The author has managed to provide the reader with an overview of her topic that doesn’t leave you dazed and confused and, in addition, goes beyond the specifics to provide relative information on allied fields of research. She does man...more
This was not a fast read, but quite understandable to the educated layperson. I learned a great deal- from the AC or DC wars of Edison and Tesla, to the ways ion channels, which are proteins, control whether and when certain ions pass into or out of the cells-causing electrical currents throughout the neurons, causing muscles to contract and glands to secrete (or not).
The history of the discovery of electricity was great and the means by which it has been used for good or ill to treat many diff...more
The history of the discovery of electricity was great and the means by which it has been used for good or ill to treat many diff...more
Thanks to Goodreads First Reads and W. W. Norton & Company, Inc. for an ARC of The Spark of Life: Electricity in the Human Body.
This was a very interesting book and covered a lot more than the title suggests. Frances Ashcroft covered the discovery of electricity, the AC/DC wars between Nikola Tesla and Thomas Edison, various "treatments" that electricity was used for, and more in this easy to read book. Some of the more biological writing in the book covered the ion channels in the cells, an...more
This was a very interesting book and covered a lot more than the title suggests. Frances Ashcroft covered the discovery of electricity, the AC/DC wars between Nikola Tesla and Thomas Edison, various "treatments" that electricity was used for, and more in this easy to read book. Some of the more biological writing in the book covered the ion channels in the cells, an...more
Rating: 4 of 5
Okay, so I think I'll have to read The Spark of Life: Electricity in the Human Body at least three or four more times to fully understand everything Ashcroft covered. It was fascinating to learn the history of electricity and I couldn't get enough of Chapter 9, "The Doors of Perception." Even for non-scientists, like moi, there is much to learn from The Spark of Life despite its scientific terminology and explanations. What I loved most about the book was how much it made (is makin...more
Okay, so I think I'll have to read The Spark of Life: Electricity in the Human Body at least three or four more times to fully understand everything Ashcroft covered. It was fascinating to learn the history of electricity and I couldn't get enough of Chapter 9, "The Doors of Perception." Even for non-scientists, like moi, there is much to learn from The Spark of Life despite its scientific terminology and explanations. What I loved most about the book was how much it made (is makin...more
Some fascinating history and great metaphors. At times very technical; there were parts I read a couple times to try to understand them and still fell short. Non-scientists who want to get every concept might do best to read this with a highlighter and take notes.
Even though I'd have to read this a few times to get the most out of it, I already have a much greater understanding of how my mind and body work, which is invaluable in itself. This is worth reading just for Chapter 9, which is all abo...more
Even though I'd have to read this a few times to get the most out of it, I already have a much greater understanding of how my mind and body work, which is invaluable in itself. This is worth reading just for Chapter 9, which is all abo...more
Fascinating mix of history of science stories and biology - at times the latter could be subtitled "how to poison someone and why it works." Very nice illustrations, particularly at the molecular level. At times I wished there were more at the gross anatomy level - but that probably reflects my lack of handy knowledge of human anatomy.
You might find yourself wishing you could throw up your hand now and then to ask Professor Ashcroft to expand on a fascinating idea, instead of moving on to a new...more
You might find yourself wishing you could throw up your hand now and then to ask Professor Ashcroft to expand on a fascinating idea, instead of moving on to a new...more
This book is life-altering and paradigm changing. If you've not been amazed by your own body just yet, first,shame on you, and second, buy this book and keep it as a national treasure!
The overall content of the book is about how electricity is generated in our amazing bodies. All of our thousands of cells contain potassium, and outside of the cell is highly concentrated with sodium. Within all of our cells, we have these amazing things called ion channels that are "innervated" by a multitude...more
The overall content of the book is about how electricity is generated in our amazing bodies. All of our thousands of cells contain potassium, and outside of the cell is highly concentrated with sodium. Within all of our cells, we have these amazing things called ion channels that are "innervated" by a multitude...more
Sep 29, 2012
Amanda Mecke
is currently reading it
I read a great interview with the author on NPR and not only is she a fascinating scientist and researcher, her writing sounds particularly compelling. In this book she explains the difference between electricity outside our bodies (based on electrons in atoms) and that inside our bodies (based on ions and cell metabolism). (She was co-discoverer of a protein that affects a certain kind of genetic diabetes.)
It was an interesting book about how the body uses electricity in all sorts of different ways, the most obvious being the control of the motor functions.
Some of the biology was way over my head, but the other parts were quite straightforward to understand. There were a couple of glaring errors, but these were on the electrical side, and the sub title of the book about it being about the human body is not strictly accurate as she covers all sorts of life, from plants to animals and how they use...more
Some of the biology was way over my head, but the other parts were quite straightforward to understand. There were a couple of glaring errors, but these were on the electrical side, and the sub title of the book about it being about the human body is not strictly accurate as she covers all sorts of life, from plants to animals and how they use...more
It was pretty good. It was a potpourri of biological uses of electricity. It talked about muscles, nerve agents, Dr. Kevorkian, LSD, Memory, Sense of Self, Neurons, Cell transport through membranes, early neuroscience among other things. It skipped around alot and didn't have as much focus as I would like but it had a little of everything.
Interesting information about how electricity works within the human body. Read this after reading that our touch phones know when we touch them because of the electricity in our fingertips. Good information and nicely written.
I absolutely loved this book! It talked about all the experiments that were done to test the hypothesis of using electricity. It gave very good background information about how we first started using electricity. It also told about how we are all made of electricity and are good conductors because of it. I would give this book to lovers of biology and physiology. It has really good material in it. I also loved how the author was able to keep me wanting to read it.
This is a very good book. The content is a lot to take in so it isn't an easy read but it's a good read. The author is well versed in her vast knowledge of science and history.
A highly technical examination of electricity in the human body and the microscopic activity of ion channels, with some interesting thoughts about the origin of consciousness.
A scientist talking about 'electricity in the human body' ties into energy therapy, design in nature and...... the dots are starting to join up -but I'm only on p58....!
I would have enjoyed it more if I knew more about Chemistry. I knew enough to understand it well enough and enjoyed having a different look at how the body works.
Terrific -- historical, anthropological, physiological -- assigning chapters for "Medicine, Body and Culture" course this summer!
Kind of interesting. It got a little boring about half way through, but it picked up towards the end.
Lots of good and interesting information, but could have been edited a bit better.
a must read. i learned a lot from this book.
Mar 24, 2013
Liz Stevens
is currently reading it
Just started but really enjoying this
Heard author on Fresh Air on 9/27/12.
Kind of a tough read, but full of amazing info. It's about the nature of life on earth. And it raises the distinct possibility that life doesn't have to work only this way.
Lots of technical terminology but very clearly written. Fascinating look at electricity in life.
This book has a lot of great reviews and I usually love this type of book. However, I just couldn't get excited about this one. Skipped many chapters to find interesting bits of info I didn't know or had forgotten.
I got this from the library, but I think it is a book to own, since there is so much information. Very interesting!
May 22, 2013
Arielle
marked it as to-read
May 19, 2013
Richard Hadley
marked it as to-read
May 13, 2013
Kyle
marked it as to-read
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Frances Ashcroft MA PhD FRS is a British physiologist. She is Royal Society GlaxoSmithKline Research Professor in the University of Oxford. She is a fellow of Trinity College and, with Kay Davies and Peter Donnelly is a director of the Oxford Centre for Gene Function.
Her research group has an international reputation for work on insulin secretion, type II diabetes and neonatal diabetes. Her work w...more
More about Frances Ashcroft...
Her research group has an international reputation for work on insulin secretion, type II diabetes and neonatal diabetes. Her work w...more
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Feb 10, 2013 08:14pm