"Bill Bryson, bestselling author of A Short History of Nearly Everything, takes us on a head-to-toe tour of the marvel that is the human body. As compulsively readable as it is comprehensive, this is Bryson at his very best, a must-read owner's manual for everybody. Bill Bryson once again proves himself to be an incomparable companion as he guides us through the human body--how it functions, its remarkable ability to heal itself, and (unfortunately)...

"Anatomy professor David Bainbridge applies the science of evolutionary biology and psychology to look at women's bodies in our ancestral past, our self-image-obsessed present, and our surgically enhanced future,"--Amazon.com.

"We humans like to think of ourselves as highly evolved creatures. But if we are supposedly evolution's greatest creation, why do we have such bad knees? Why do we catch head colds so often--two hundred times more often than a dog? How come our wrists have so many useless bones? Why is the vast majority of our genetic code pointless? And are we really supposed to swallow and breathe through the same narrow tube? Surely there's been some kind of mistake....

Did you know that you can tell time in your sleep? That women have more nightmares than men? Or that up to half of the calories you consume can be burned off simply by fidgeting? In Sex, Sleep, Eat, Drink, Dream, acclaimed science writer Jennifer Ackerman takes us on an astonishing and illuminating tour of the human body during a typical day, from waking in the morning to the reverie of sleep and dreams. Most of us are familiar with the concept of...

Explains how the human heart works, including such concepts as the circulatory system, the arteries, and the capillaries.

"Despite the simple designs shown on most Valentine's Day cards, hearts are quite complex organs. Readers take a close look at the four-chambered pump that keeps the blood circulating in their bodies. Colorful diagrams illustrate the different parts of the heart and help readers understand the important processes this key body part performs"--adapted from Amazon.

Presents an introduction to the lungs and the respiratory system, offering information on lung structure, function, and maintaining lung health.

"Quick science experiments using the human body"--

Explains how certain animals use their noses to help them survive, including a cottontail rabbit, rhinoceros, and a hammerhead shark.

In its essence, science is a way of looking at and thinking about the world. In The Life of a Leaf, Steven Vogel illuminates this approach, using the humble leaf as a model. Whether plant or person, every organism must contend with its immediate physical environment, a world that both limits what organisms can do and offers innumerable opportunities for evolving fascinating ways of challenging those limits. Here, Vogel explains these interactions,...