"An anatomy of human life, vividly illustrated. . . . Awe-inspiring [and] sublimely uplifting".
--Time
Having won the National Book Award for "How We Die", his best-selling inquiry into the causes and modes of death, Sherwin Nuland now turns his attention to the miraculous resiliency of human life. For this lucid, wonderful, and wonder-filled new book explores the body's mysterious capacity to marshal disparate organs and processes in the interests of survival.
Like its predecessor, "How We Live" is filled with gripping medical case histories: a woman is pulled back from the brink of death from inexplicable internal bleeding; another patient triumphs over breast cancer; the "routine" removal of a polyp triggers a nearly lethal medical crisis. For Nuland, each of these cases serves to illustrate the extraordinary responsiveness and adaptability of the human organism. We learn how the aorta's baroreceptors monitor blood pressure and respond to its minutest fluctuations. We follow the intricate chain of electrochemical command that makes us leap out of the path of a speeding car. We discover why the stomach--which is capable of breaking down everything from porridge to pizza--refrains from digesting itself. Informed by sympathy for human suffering and an erudition that includes poetry and the Talmud as well as the medical canon, "How We Live" is science writing of the rarest kind--lucid, poetic, and genuinely uplifting.
Originally published under the title "The Wisdom of the Body"
"synopsis" may belong to another edition of this title.
An anatomy of human life, vividly illustrated .Awe-inspiring [and] sublimely uplifting. Time
Memorable . A unique and worthy addition to the medical classics. Boston Globe
Dramatic, lyrical. The book is part medical thriller . And part profession of faith in the beauty of human biology. Wall Street Journal"
"An anatomy of human life, vividly illustrated.... Awe-inspiring [and] sublimely uplifting." --Time
The companion volume to HOW WE DIE, the international bestseller: but a book about life and how it works, instead of death.
"About this title" may belong to another edition of this title.
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Seller: Syber's Books, Melbourne, VIC, Australia
Softcover. Condition: Very Good. First Edition. Acknowledgements, introduction by author, glossary and index. Colour photographic paperback binding with white coloured titles to the front panel and back strip. In this book the author plunges into the amazing organism that is the human body. A little creasing of the book corners and rubbing of the edges and of the panels. Remnants of a sticker can be seen to the lower edge of the rear panel; with, original bookseller's sticker. Minor age toning of the text block edges and pages. Previous owners initials to the top left hand corner of the half title page and page following title page. Size: Trade Paperback. [11], XII - XXIV, [4] 395, [3] pages, Please refer to accompanying picture (s). Quantity Available: 1. Shipped Weight: Under 1 kilo. Category: Medicine & Health; Science & Technology. ISBN: 0701164824. ISBN/EAN: 9780701164829. Inventory No: 0291007. Seller Inventory # 0291007
Quantity: 1 available