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The Odd Body: Mysteries of Our Weird and Wonderful Bodies Explained
If you've ever had a question about your body (maybe one you're afraid to ask?), this book is for you. Things like why we yawn, why skin wrinkles after a bath, or even whether it's possible to keep a severed head The Odd Body explains these and many other silly, weird, bizarre, and fascinating body mysteries. Dr. Stephen Juan entertains and rivets readers with his detailed answers.
Reading The Odd Body is like having your doctor patiently answer all your random questions, one by one. But Dr. Juan goes well beyond the usual and ordinary things people wonder about bodies, like why most individuals are right-handed or why you get chills when chalk screeches across a blackboard. He also tells readers how a dead body is made into a mummy, the success rate of those who bore holes in their own heads to relieve headaches, and much, much more.
The Odd Body is a unique combination of fun and fascinating material that's delivered by an expert who happens to be a great storyteller. The book's question-and-answer format makes it easy to pick up, turn to any page, and immediately become drawn into the intricacies of anatomy and physiology while gaining a better understanding of the human need to know more about ourselves.
Reading The Odd Body is like having your doctor patiently answer all your random questions, one by one. But Dr. Juan goes well beyond the usual and ordinary things people wonder about bodies, like why most individuals are right-handed or why you get chills when chalk screeches across a blackboard. He also tells readers how a dead body is made into a mummy, the success rate of those who bore holes in their own heads to relieve headaches, and much, much more.
The Odd Body is a unique combination of fun and fascinating material that's delivered by an expert who happens to be a great storyteller. The book's question-and-answer format makes it easy to pick up, turn to any page, and immediately become drawn into the intricacies of anatomy and physiology while gaining a better understanding of the human need to know more about ourselves.
250 pages, Paperback
First published January 1, 1995
4 people are currently reading
85 people want to read
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Displaying 1 - 10 of 10 reviews
March 31, 2019
The most interesting thing that I find with nonfiction books is there has been no author quite bold enough to study the human animal and place us down in a factual way. As a result although we know ourselves individually or as a collective whole yet do we know very little of ourselves truly, we experience the human body but very small do we get a chance to be able to get the full stats unless you study for medical.
Stephen Juan did a great job in at least approaching the subject to at least breakdown the human body for those who are curious towards the most weirder aspect. And as a result the chapters end up being organized to approach a main particular point like the brain, eyes, and death of course. This way if you are only interested on one subject it most definitely will help to scale down your studies.
At the same time the question is posted as the subject header and then the answer is given in more detail underneath. As a result the answers usually vary from several paragraphs to three or four and a half pages with most focusing on being a page long. So the book can be read in just one or two entries for those who like a break with their facts or it can be read from cover-to-cover.
And even though the book does focus on the medical and scientific aspects of the human body the writing used is simple enough for the most common reader that it won't drag on like a college textbook. Along with additional fun facts thrown in on the side (these don't always pertain to the chapters though) the reader will find this a simple yet informative read.
To keep with his easy reading style, though, the author does use a lot of pop culture references whether as jokes to lead into his subjects or to finish an answer. Unfortunately they seem to date the author for although some of them were funny to me I am sure that there are some newer generations who won't know what he is implying nor care about why Michael Jackson is white or what Tiny Tim Cratchit is crippled from.
All in all I may have found myself to have rated this book just a bit higher but instead found myself to choose just three stars in the end. My end reason for this was the fact that human spontaneous combustion was actually mentioned in here but like many scientific crowds the author actually chose to sweep the subject under the rug. He said that all known cases have been explained off but didn't provide a majority of their cases nor their explanations or even explained why nothing else seems to burn but the human body itself. The one case mentioned they blamed a girl for catching an ember that started her dress to smolder on the back in which case she just so didn't happen to feel that it was burning nor had anyone that was walking behind her see something strange. There is more to this subject I think while it was a disappointment to me how he approached it.
All in all it was a good book and one that I did enjoy but I don't think that I would buy any of these books although I would read any others I may come across to see what else has been included. As for a recommendation for those who are interested about the human body and some of its weirder aspects this would be a good start just as long as you didn't mind the pop culture references or puns from the author.
Stephen Juan did a great job in at least approaching the subject to at least breakdown the human body for those who are curious towards the most weirder aspect. And as a result the chapters end up being organized to approach a main particular point like the brain, eyes, and death of course. This way if you are only interested on one subject it most definitely will help to scale down your studies.
At the same time the question is posted as the subject header and then the answer is given in more detail underneath. As a result the answers usually vary from several paragraphs to three or four and a half pages with most focusing on being a page long. So the book can be read in just one or two entries for those who like a break with their facts or it can be read from cover-to-cover.
And even though the book does focus on the medical and scientific aspects of the human body the writing used is simple enough for the most common reader that it won't drag on like a college textbook. Along with additional fun facts thrown in on the side (these don't always pertain to the chapters though) the reader will find this a simple yet informative read.
To keep with his easy reading style, though, the author does use a lot of pop culture references whether as jokes to lead into his subjects or to finish an answer. Unfortunately they seem to date the author for although some of them were funny to me I am sure that there are some newer generations who won't know what he is implying nor care about why Michael Jackson is white or what Tiny Tim Cratchit is crippled from.
All in all I may have found myself to have rated this book just a bit higher but instead found myself to choose just three stars in the end. My end reason for this was the fact that human spontaneous combustion was actually mentioned in here but like many scientific crowds the author actually chose to sweep the subject under the rug. He said that all known cases have been explained off but didn't provide a majority of their cases nor their explanations or even explained why nothing else seems to burn but the human body itself. The one case mentioned they blamed a girl for catching an ember that started her dress to smolder on the back in which case she just so didn't happen to feel that it was burning nor had anyone that was walking behind her see something strange. There is more to this subject I think while it was a disappointment to me how he approached it.
All in all it was a good book and one that I did enjoy but I don't think that I would buy any of these books although I would read any others I may come across to see what else has been included. As for a recommendation for those who are interested about the human body and some of its weirder aspects this would be a good start just as long as you didn't mind the pop culture references or puns from the author.
July 27, 2010
Banyak hal-hal sederhana yang unik tentang tubuh kita dibahas dalan buku ini, hal-hal yang ga terpikir sebelumnya.
Tapi banyak juga yang masih dalam penelitian, jadi kurang akurat (kayaknya masih mentah ini buku) ditambah penjelasan-penjelasan yang agar sukar dimengerti orang awam.
Kadang-kadang menarik, kadang-kadang membosankan.
Tapi banyak juga yang masih dalam penelitian, jadi kurang akurat (kayaknya masih mentah ini buku) ditambah penjelasan-penjelasan yang agar sukar dimengerti orang awam.
Kadang-kadang menarik, kadang-kadang membosankan.
November 26, 2011
What an amazing book. Comes off with a Q&A layout with the most asked questions regarding ourselves and i mean almost anything. The good the bad and the gross, you name it!
Though, I must say I didn't absorb much of it. U kinda need to reread in order for it to sink in. Or, you could just read the questions that you are interested in.
Though, I must say I didn't absorb much of it. U kinda need to reread in order for it to sink in. Or, you could just read the questions that you are interested in.
July 3, 2012
Funny and entertaining.
February 12, 2014
Full of interesting tidbits about the human body and health in general. Some of it fun, some of it gross. A good book to pick up and read in short bursts, as I did at work, during my breaks.
March 13, 2014
I enjoyed reading this book. It answered some of the weird questions I had always wondered about, and answered quite a few that I hadn't thought to ask.
May 1, 2015
I registered a book at BookCrossing.com!
http://www.BookCrossing.com/journal/13225780
http://www.BookCrossing.com/journal/13225780
October 12, 2016
leuk voor af en toe een stukje .
January 25, 2018
Популяризаторская книга по анатомии - интересно, много занимательных фактов с цифрами, но ничего принципиально нового.
Для подростков, не обладающих начальными знаниями по анатомии.
Для подростков, не обладающих начальными знаниями по анатомии.
Displaying 1 - 10 of 10 reviews