DK Guide to the Human Body [Hardcover]

Richard Walker (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: April 18, 2001 | Age Level: 9 and up

Revealed in fantastic computer-enhanced, three-dimensional pictures, the complex internal world of the human body is explored in DK Guide to the Human Body. In different sections of the book, the ingenious processes involved in moving, breathing, digesting food, producing babies, growing, and fighting off disease are explained in clear, lively text. The elaborate network of nerves that reach to the body's furthest extremities and carry data back to the brain is explored in fascinating detail. With page after page of groundbreaking imaging techniques in DK Guide to the Human Body, the layers of skin, flesh, bones, and other organs can be explored as they never have been before. Unravel 22 feet of small intestine and find out what happens to the good that travels through it at different stages of its journey. Be amazed by the power of the human eye and its ability to relay to the brain the difference between 10,000 different colors. Discover how the kidneys, at only 4 inches long, process the body's entire blood volume approximately 15 times each hour, 24 hours a day. Fantastic close-up photography shows the very cells that give our bodies substance and together make it run like a well-oiled and highly sophisticated machine. Front cover: A colored X-ray of the chest of an adult woman shows healthy lungs and heart. The two lungs -- in blue and orange -- can be seen through the ribs on each side of the central breastbone. The lungs supply the body with oxygen and carry away carbon dioxide. The heart -- in deep red -- occupies the space at lower center right. It pumps blood to and from the lungs and throughout the body.

Editorial Reviews

From Publishers Weekly

Large, close-up, computer-enhanced photographs and fascinating facts make up the Guide to the Human Body by Richard Walker. Microscopic photos also reveal what hair looks like as it erupts from a follicle, a cross-section of skin and red blood cells. Those with dreams of a career in medicine will gobble up the information here, such as the fact that the silver lining of an oyster's shell can stimulate the growth of a damaged human bone. Fold-out flaps reveal the circulatory system over the length of the entire body. This informative volume closes with several tables of "Body Data," including major medical discoveries, branches of medicine and Web sites for further research.

Copyright 2001 Cahners Business Information, Inc.

About the Author

Richard Walker, B.Sc., Ph.D., is a biology professor and an accomplished author of numerous books on human biology and anatomy, including Dorling Kindersley's Eyewitness Visual Dictionary of Human Anatomy. He has also written many titles on health and science for children and adults.

Product Details

• Reading level: Ages 9 and up
  
• Hardcover: 64 pages
• Publisher: DK CHILDREN; NULL edition (April 18, 2001)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0789473887
• ISBN-13: 978-0789473882
• Product Dimensions: 14.1 x 10.8 x 0.5 inches
• Shipping Weight: 2 pounds
• Average Customer Review: 5.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (3 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #1,615,830 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

5 of 5 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Fascinating Detail! Even adults will love this book..., May 16, 2001

By 

Rebecca Johnson "The Rebecca Review" (Washington State) - See all my reviews
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This review is from: DK Guide to the Human Body (Hardcover)

This book will take you on a journey through the systems of the body in computer-enhanced, three-dimensional pictures. The power of close-up photography allows you to see surfaces and the interior of the human body as never seen before.

The items shown include: the skin, hair, nails, skeleton, joints, muscles, brain, nerves, eyes, ears, nose, tongue, hormones, heart, blood, circulation, blood vessels, body defenses, respiratory system, lungs, teeth and mouth, digestion, intestines, liver, urinary system, reproduction, fertilization and pregnancy, genes and chromosomes, growth and aging.

The section on circulation has a big fold out section. There is a great section on "body data" which includes facts like: "our eyes are closed for half an hour a day due to blinking" or 'humans use 200 different muscles to walk."

The major medical discoveries from c.420BC to the year 2000 are also listed. I thought this would be an excellent book for children who are especially interested in perhaps becoming a doctor one day or show an interest in the medical profession at a young age.

The author Richard Walker, B.Sc., PhD., is a biology professor and an accomplished author of numerous books on human biology. You might also want to look up the Visual Dictionary of Human Anatomy.

If you want to know what is going on in those 22 feet of small intestine or find out what happens to food as it travels through your body, or maybe you want to know how the kidneys process the body's entire blood volume 15 times each hour, 24 hours a day...then this is the book for you.

~The Rebecca Review

3 of 3 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Everything you ever wanted to see inside the Human Body, February 18, 2002

By 

Lawrance M. Bernabo (The Zenith City, Duluth, Minnesota) - See all my reviews
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This review is from: DK Guide to the Human Body (Hardcover)

I actually managed to make it through high school and college without ever taking biology, mainly because I had no desire whatsoever to dissect a frog or pig and find out everything there is to see in there. Richard Walker's "Guide to the Human Body" provides a photographic journey through the human body that is just great for timid little souls such as myself. Inside you will find computer-enhanced, three-dimensional pictures of everything from your skeleton to your chromosomes. There are photos of blocked arteries, T cells attacking a cancer cell, an eardrum, and gigantic taste buds. Maybe that is why I like this book: because even if I had taken biology, with a super microscope that was certainly well beyond the budgetary resources of the Albuquerque Public School system, I still would not have been able to see all of the wonders depicted in this oversized book. Dr. Richard Walker does a fine job of explaining everything in terms that even I can understand. Maybe this science stuff is more important than I had thought way back when. Final note: The picture shown above of the cover to this book does not do it justice; the colors are so vibrant they border on neon.

5.0 out of 5 stars No Ordinary Guide!, March 15, 2002

By 

HBeano (Cambridge, UK) - See all my reviews

This review is from: DK Guide to the Human Body (Hardcover)

I assure you that once you pick up this book you will not want to put it down.It's slim but over-sized with captivating close-up photography on almost every human organ you can think of accompanied by terse explanatory text. This book sure does justice to the saying "A picture can say more than a thousand words". It has the kind of photographs you might not see anywhere else. I loved the fact that it also lists major medical discoveries and some very good websites to explore.