Nonfiction

The Body: A Guide for Occupants

The Body: A Guide for Occupants

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  • Type：Epub+TxT+PDF+Mobi
  • Create Date：2021-06-05 09:55:26
  • Update Date：2025-09-06
  • Status：finish
  • Author：Bill Bryson
  • ISBN：0385539304
  • Environment：PC/Android/iPhone/iPad/Kindle
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Summary

In the bestselling， prize-winning A Short History of Nearly Everything， Bill Bryson achieved the seemingly impossible by making the science of our world both understandable and entertaining to millions of people around the globe。

Now he turns his attention inwards to explore the human body， how it functions and its remarkable ability to heal itself。 Full of extraordinary facts and astonishing stories， The Body: A Guide for Occupants is a brilliant， often very funny attempt to understand the miracle of our physical and neurological make up。

A wonderful successor to A Short History of Nearly Everything， this book will have you marvelling at the form you occupy， and celebrating the genius of your existence， time and time again。

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Reviews

Lydia ，

Not typical Bill Bryson but still excellent。 So many tidbits to enjoy。

Will Ford ，

Classic Bill Bryson， giving you everything you need to know and all the interesting facts no one else seems to know in a genuinely funny and incredibly readable way。 More refined and less ambling than a Short History of Nearly Everything but that is as expected as he covers even more topics in that。 If you like Bill Bryson， or you're interested in how the human body works， this is perfect for you Classic Bill Bryson， giving you everything you need to know and all the interesting facts no one else seems to know in a genuinely funny and incredibly readable way。 More refined and less ambling than a Short History of Nearly Everything but that is as expected as he covers even more topics in that。 If you like Bill Bryson， or you're interested in how the human body works， this is perfect for you 。。。more

Bhavin ，

Amazing insight into our own body that we occupy， but know so little about。 Every Organ， Every Activity explained well。It is entertaining and knowledgeable read。

Shayla ，

4。8 stars。 I was ready for it to end。

Vina Wiryadinata ，

Best book about humanbody in general so far！ I've read The Idiot Brain and Keep Sharp， both mainly focus on certain organ of human body specifically brain。 I've always wanted to find a book which talks about human body in general instead of specific parts just to have an overall better and more enhanced then majority-understanding to ourselves， and it is the best book I can find。 It's interactive， attractive， interesting， not too much jargons， funny。 It's a book every normal person shall find jo Best book about humanbody in general so far！ I've read The Idiot Brain and Keep Sharp， both mainly focus on certain organ of human body specifically brain。 I've always wanted to find a book which talks about human body in general instead of specific parts just to have an overall better and more enhanced then majority-understanding to ourselves， and it is the best book I can find。 It's interactive， attractive， interesting， not too much jargons， funny。 It's a book every normal person shall find joy in reading to get to know us and others better， to grow empathy and to be a better functional friend or family。 。。。more

Curtis Edmonds ，

I read THE ROAD TO LITTLE DRIBBLING not that long ago， which is Bryson at his worst--grumbling and whiny。 This is Bryson at his best--informative， interesting， and provocative。 Highly recommended。

Stuart ，

Bryson delves into the human and reveals so many fascinating and little-known facts and scientific historical discoveries， delivered in his engaging style as always

Lisa C。 ，

Love Bill Bryson's books， and really like his reading of the audio versions。 Informative， entertaining and thoroughly enjoyable， as always。 Love Bill Bryson's books， and really like his reading of the audio versions。 Informative， entertaining and thoroughly enjoyable， as always。 。。。more

Liz Krieger ，

This book is an excellent overview of the human body and all its parts， both large and small， significant and otherwise， and how they function。 It makes me realize how the human body is a symphony - beautiful， complicated， fragile - and a gift that should be treasured。 Bryson did an incredible amount of research in writing this book， and despite the complexity of the material， he makes it very readable and entertaining。 I wish there was some way my brain could remember all the information I read This book is an excellent overview of the human body and all its parts， both large and small， significant and otherwise， and how they function。 It makes me realize how the human body is a symphony - beautiful， complicated， fragile - and a gift that should be treasured。 Bryson did an incredible amount of research in writing this book， and despite the complexity of the material， he makes it very readable and entertaining。 I wish there was some way my brain could remember all the information I read， but alas， I fear it is not up to the task。 But for the moment I have been given a peek at the workings of this gift we have received and hope I can treat mine with the love and respect it deserves。 。。。more

Jim McCarthy ，

Informative， meaty book。 Hard to “digest” fully in one go， so worth keeping on the bookshelf for reference or review。

Nikhil Gokarn ，

Only Bryson could have made Biology this interesting a topic to read！

Kyla Hookey ，

Though there's a lot of meaty material in this book， it's written in a light way。 Wry， witty， and a touch gossipy so the information goes down easily， like sugar。Well done， Bill Bryson。 Though there's a lot of meaty material in this book， it's written in a light way。 Wry， witty， and a touch gossipy so the information goes down easily， like sugar。Well done， Bill Bryson。 。。。more

Juhi ，

Every other chapter had a jaw-dropping fact about the human body。 Just like Sapiens， this book can make one more humble and grateful。

Beth Landstrom ，

Freaking brilliant。 I loved every minute of it。

Lynnea ，

Super interesting！ Fun facts and easy to read。

Ian ，

Lots of fascinating facts and history regarding our biology。

Claire MacPherson ，

Brilliant！ I love Bill Bryson and his obsessive writing about topics， both large and small。 This book didn't disappoint either and I learnt a lot I didn't know， even having a few "Oh， so THAT'S why" moments， and， overridingly， having it drummed home how much we （and scientists） still don't know about the way humans work。 I really enjoyed it。 Brilliant！ I love Bill Bryson and his obsessive writing about topics， both large and small。 This book didn't disappoint either and I learnt a lot I didn't know， even having a few "Oh， so THAT'S why" moments， and， overridingly， having it drummed home how much we （and scientists） still don't know about the way humans work。 I really enjoyed it。 。。。more

David ，

Bill Bryson started out writing travel books。 Not travel guides， but travelogues - notes on his thoughts as he traveled around， interesting anecdotes， fun random facts about a place。 These remain my favorite Bryson books， but I've very much appreciated the turn he's taken in the last couple decades to write "travel books" that aren't geographic。 A tour through all science in A Short History of Nearly Everything， or through the English language in The Mother Tongue: English and How It Got That Wa Bill Bryson started out writing travel books。 Not travel guides， but travelogues - notes on his thoughts as he traveled around， interesting anecdotes， fun random facts about a place。 These remain my favorite Bryson books， but I've very much appreciated the turn he's taken in the last couple decades to write "travel books" that aren't geographic。 A tour through all science in A Short History of Nearly Everything， or through the English language in The Mother Tongue: English and How It Got That Way， or several other topics。 And now， the human body。First， a warning to those who are squeamish: it's the human body。 All of it。 In all its glory， grossness， and all the ways it can go wrong。 And the weird and sometimes horrific ways we figured out how it worked。 Bryson doesn't linger on the grossness， though there are a handful of anecdotes he appears to take a little more delight in recounting than I really enjoyed。It's overall a good book， though not a great one。 It reminds me of the kind of "scientific" literature produced in late Roman and early medieval times， by people like Pliny the Elder and Isidore of Seville。 A lot of facts， many things intended to pique the reader's interest， but overall superficial and something that would amuse as much as inform。But the benefit of living today， as opposed to in Isidore's day， is that if my curiosity is piqued by something in the book， I can deep dive into the vast amount of more technical literature out there waiting for me。The only thing that really annoys me about the book is that， because Bryson's not an expert in any of this， it's easy for him to say something silly and not catch the error。 He's relying on real experts， reading lots himself and interviewing many of the brightest minds in these fields， but some stuff slips through the cracks。 He gets particularly bogged down in this idea that “photons of light have no color” （p。 55）， which makes literally no sense。 He appears to have waded into some philosophical argument that color is epiphenomenal and occurs only in the mind， which is a controversial （and in a physicist's perspective， stupid） argument - but Bryson doesn't appreciate any of the physics or philosophy here， or that it could even be debatable， because he's basing everything on one so-called authority on the topic。 On page 127， he explains that blood is red， but appears blue because of "a quirk of optics" where "a higher proportion of the red spectrum is absorbed， but more blue light is bounced back"， which is literally the definition of something being blue。 This very same thing comes up later with another sense， when he notes "none of those flavors or aromas actually exist。 All that is really going on in your mouth is texture and chemicals" （p。 107）。 As if somehow something that's "just" chemicals isn't real？ All that's going on in your brain is chemicals！I latch onto these points because it shows the danger of following a non-expert on an intellectual voyage。 Like a good but non-expert guide through the wilderness， he can follow the map - but if the map's wrong， he won't know。 But overall the book seems good， and you can't deny that Bryson is an entertaining author。 I was thinking of giving the book three stars， but。。。 even one of Bryson's less compelling works is better than what most authors could put together。 。。。more

Sue ，

Fascinating explanations of the body humanI can't emphasize enough the way Me Bryson explains most everything human。 Kind of Clif notes for anyone with a scientific "bent。" I couldn't put it down and now I am ordering the print version。 Just got too many reasons to enumerate。 I have already chosen my next Bryson book！ Fascinating explanations of the body humanI can't emphasize enough the way Me Bryson explains most everything human。 Kind of Clif notes for anyone with a scientific "bent。" I couldn't put it down and now I am ordering the print version。 Just got too many reasons to enumerate。 I have already chosen my next Bryson book！ 。。。more

Lbflute ，

This book was fascinating， full of interesting tidbits about the human body， and often delving into the history of modern medicine。 I thought the organization was a bit jumpy， sometimes circling back to topics discussed earlier， but that would be about my only critique。 Some of the most entertaining non-fiction I have had the pleasure to devour in a long time。

Ryan O’Leary ，

Bill Bryson's writing style made learning a lot more entertaining！ So much I never learned in school and in a much more applicable context。 Bill Bryson's writing style made learning a lot more entertaining！ So much I never learned in school and in a much more applicable context。 。。。more

Arnab ，

It's certainly enthralling to know the human animal the way Bill Bryson writes。 It's certainly enthralling to know the human animal the way Bill Bryson writes。 。。。more

Bryce ，

Illuminating and readable。 Cleared away a lot of the myths you learn about your body and medicine as a kid from school and parents。 Flaws: as much as he criticized “unhealthy” lifestyles and obesity， I wish he mentioned the converse problems of orthorexia and the body-image industry。

Christi Kim ，

Extremely informative， plus the casual writing style made it easy to read！ Honestly made me realize how incredible the human body is， but also how there are still so many things to research/unknowns regarding us。

Mel ，

Bryson is yet to disappoint me。 A medical book for the lay person that I learned so much from， told with humour and reverence for humanity。 Highly recommend for anyone who wants to know the mysteries of our bodies， and all of the mysteries that we still do not know。

Vijayaragavan ，

Masterful read。 What a masterclass in writing！ Joyous， interesting and informative read on something that can be downright boring and complex。 This is going to pull me into rabbit hole of Bill bryson's books。 But， who is going to complain。 Masterful read。 What a masterclass in writing！ Joyous， interesting and informative read on something that can be downright boring and complex。 This is going to pull me into rabbit hole of Bill bryson's books。 But， who is going to complain。 。。。more

Ankit ，

A fun collection of quirky facts about how understanding of the human body and medicine evolved

Susan ，

As soon as I saw the author of this book， I was sold。 I’ve read a few other Bryson books and they are always well researched and also entertaining。 As my brother said， “His analogies are great！” This was published in 2019， before the ordeal of COVID and its lifestyle。 The microbiological， pharmacological and infectious disease insights were very interesting in this regard， pre social media and news bias。

Nancy ，

The Body is better than my taking two months to finish it would lead you to believe。 It's just that it is easy to put it down to read something else and pick it up again （no plot）。 The last two or three chapters discussing medicine and death and statistics are particularly fascinating。 Lots to refer back to from time to time。 I may have to buy a copy。 The Body is better than my taking two months to finish it would lead you to believe。 It's just that it is easy to put it down to read something else and pick it up again （no plot）。 The last two or three chapters discussing medicine and death and statistics are particularly fascinating。 Lots to refer back to from time to time。 I may have to buy a copy。 。。。more

Christine ，

This was a decent read and I learned quite a bit， but it was veeeeery contradictory。 Bryson spends what feels like most of the book telling you how bad being fat is and that it’s basically the WORST only to conclude that well。。。 a lot of fit people also die from this stuff and you’ll probably actually die from something else！

Reference

google book https://www.google.com/search?tbm=bks&q=The Body: A Guide for Occupants

hathitrust digital library https://babel.hathitrust.org/cgi/ls?q1=The Body: A Guide for Occupants&field1=ocr&a=srchls&ft=ft&lmt=ft

The British Library https://bll01.primo.exlibrisgroup.com/discovery/search?query=any,contains,The Body: A Guide for Occupants&tab=LibraryCatalog&search_scope=Not_BL_Suppress&vid=44BL_INST:BLL01&lang=en&offset=0