The Bloodstream

by Isaac Asimov

The diverse activities of the circulatory system are described for the layman

Genres: Science, Nonfiction

224 pages, Paperback

First published October 1, 1961

About the author

Works of prolific Russian-American writer Isaac Asimov include popular explanations of scientific principles, The Foundation Trilogy (1951-1953), and other volumes of fiction.

Isaac Asimov, a professor of biochemistry, wrote as a highly successful author, best known for his books.

Asimov, professor, generally considered of all time, edited more than five hundred books and ninety thousand letters and postcards. He published in nine of the ten major categories of the Dewey decimal classification but lacked only an entry in the category of philosophy (100).

People widely considered Asimov, a master of the genre alongside Robert Anson Heinlein and Arthur Charles Clarke as the "big three" during his lifetime. He later tied Galactic Empire and the Robot into the same universe as his most famous series to create a unified "future history" for his stories much like those that Heinlein pioneered and Cordwainer Smith and Poul Anderson previously produced. He penned "Nightfall," voted in 1964 as the best short story of all time; many persons still honor this title. He also produced well mysteries, fantasy, and a great quantity of nonfiction. Asimov used Paul French, the pen name, for the Lucky Starr, series of juvenile novels.

Most books of Asimov in a historical way go as far back to a time with possible question or concept at its simplest stage. He often provides and mentions well nationalities, birth, and death dates for persons and etymologies and pronunciation guides for technical terms. Guide to Science, the tripartite set Understanding Physics, and Chronology of Science and Discovery exemplify these books.

Asimov, a long-time member, reluctantly served as vice president of Mensa international and described some members of that organization as "brain-proud and aggressive about their IQs." He took more pleasure as president of the humanist association. The asteroid 5020 Asimov, the magazine Asimov's Science Fiction, an elementary school in Brooklyn in New York, and two different awards honor his name.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Isaac_As...

Reviews

[John · Rating 5 out of 5]

Asimov covers blood. I believe this was the first time I actually heard the analogy "river" for blood, but it's perfect. It helps keep in mind that these higher creatures needed a synthetic river to dispose of waste and acquire nutrients, their river being now separated from various tissues due to said higher creature status. This explains the myriad of complex proteins found in the blood, whose attributes are admirably explored. When I grow up, I want to be Isaac Asimov.

[ilya murychev · Rating 5 out of 5]

The book is excellent. The only thing is that it was written in 1961. Since then, science has moved forward a little. The potassium-sodium pump through the cell membrane is already known. But in general, the review of anatomy is very good and at a level where a non-biologist can understand something.


Книга отличная. Едиственное, что была написана в 1961 году. С тех пор наука ушла немного вперед. Уже известен калие-натриевый насос через мембрану клетки. Витамин В12 - кобальт, а витамин К - коагулянт (антиасперин). Но вообще обзор анатомии очень хороший и на том уровне, когда небиолог что-то может понять.

[Aaron · Rating 5 out of 5]

A fascinating little book on the bloodstream which might not sound all that interesting, but when you get down to it, blood does a lot of things besides just move oxygen around the body. Asimov makes this faux-textbook imminently readable and very engaging from the beginning.

[Allyson Dyar · Rating 4 out of 5]

This book is, like the previous book reviewed a history book, but a medical book on the subject of blood.

However, unlike the previous book which was written in 2002, this book was written 1961.

To say we've come a long way is a true understatement.

I love reading old medically oriented books and in fact, I love going into used bookstores and purchasing these oldies.

They provide such a fascinating look at the state of medicine or the individual subject matter at the time of writing. It's just as interesting to see what is included and much as what isn't included because it hadn't been discovered yet.

While Berton Roueche was the one who introduced me to the idea of reading medical narratives while in 4th grade, Isaac Asimov opened up the human body as more than just flesh and bones, but a marval of engineering. If you don't understand a subject, he'll make sure that you do after you've finished reading the book or essay.

With the complexities of medical science these days, I really miss his lucid explanations and fun way he had of illustrating whatever he was discussing.

OK, so I haven't talked much about the book except to say that I enjoyed it. This was my "waiting for Dafydd at the station" book, so it took me over four months to read. :) Nothing specifically stuck out except for an interesting few tidbits that wouldn't interest anyone except someone like myself who reads old books for fun.