'We spend our whole lives in one body and yet most of us have practically no idea how it works and what goes on inside it. The idea of the book is simply to try to understand the extraordinary contraption that is us.’

In the best-selling, 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 makeup.

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Listening Length	14 hours and 47 minutes
Author	Bill Bryson
Narrator	Bill Bryson
Whispersync for Voice	Ready
Audible.com Release Date	October 03, 2019
Publisher	Audible Studios
Program Type	Audiobook
Version	Unabridged
Language	English
ASIN	B07MVK8NJX
Best Sellers Rank	#12,738 in Audible Books & Originals (See Top 100 in Audible Books & Originals) #41 in Biology (Audible Books & Originals) #386 in Biology (Books)

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3 star		5%
2 star		1%
1 star		1%

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Ryan Boissonneault

Best introduction to the complexity of the human body available

Reviewed in the United States on October 16, 2019

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If you’d like to learn more about how the body works but don’t want to read textbooks on human anatomy and physiology, this is the book for you. As Bryson writes, “We pass our existence within this warm wobble of flesh and yet take it entirely for granted.” We are the product of three billion years of evolutionary refinement, a biological machine of unimagined complexity, and yet most of us can’t even identify where the spleen is, or what it does.

If this book doesn’t pique your interest in how your body works, then nothing probably will. Bryson takes the reader through each body system, describing the anatomy and physiology of each, but also providing historical information, expert interviews, and biographical details on the pioneers of medical discovery. Bryson, as usual, writes in an informative and entertaining way, presenting information in clever ways (for example, when he states that a portion of your cerebral cortex the size of a grain of sand can hold 1.2 billion copies of this book.) The book is filled with calculations and analogies like this to help the reader better contextualize the information.

I also appreciate how Bryson doesn’t mindlessly repeat the cliches we always here without doing his research. It’s commonly stated that we only use 10 percent of our brains, or that our body contains 10 times as many bacterial cells as human cells. It turns out that these statements, among many others, are false, and Bryson shows you why. He doesn’t take anything for granted and researches all such claims.

You will also come to understand—not only how much you don’t understand about the body—but also how much of the body no one understands. The body is unfathomably complex, and many areas and functions remain mysterious.

If I had to say anything negative about the book, it would be the lack of illustrations. Some diagrams would be helpful, especially on the sections covering anatomy, as it’s hard to visualize the structures as he’s describing them. Also, don’t expect to dive too deeply into the functioning of each body system—the details are selective and you’re going to get equal measures of the history behind the discoveries. This is not a bad thing, as long as you’re expecting it.

Overall, this is probably the best popular book on the subject, and a good entry point for further study in anatomy, physiology, human evolution, or medicine.

287 people found this helpful

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Linda Trzos

Enjoyable read but...

Reviewed in the United States on October 25, 2019

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It is a pity that Bryson feels the need to get digs in at the notion of God. For example , he maarvels about the eye and then criticizes it for being made"backward" when he mentions intellivgent desigm. To each his owm view. but going about wonderfully made we are and not even entertaining the idea that there might be something otger than randomness involved is shortsighted. And intentionally insulting that belif system felt hostile to me.

304 people found this helpful

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Amazed at Your Own Body

Reviewed in the United States on October 16, 2019

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Bill Bryson wants you to stand in amazement at what you’ve been closest to your whole life—your own body. That is the tone he sets in this fascinating look at what we know from science about human anatomy.

It’s important for readers to know that the book takes a modern scientific and not a creator based approach to humanity. While amazed by the feats of engineering evolution has accomplished over the eons, Bryson also points out design flaws or parts that any intelligent engineer would have done better.

The style is not didactic, however, but typical of a Bill Bryson book—wry, frequently going off on tangents about a particular disease or an anecdote about an eccentric scientist. The book covers so much ground that it too is somewhat anecdotal. It really is less a comprehensive guide to the body and more a combination of anatomy 101 with many tales from past and present scientific endeavors.

In short, if you need a complete guide to human physiology this is probably not a thorough enough source. But if you simply want to expand your knowledge of anatomy with an engaging read you can’t go wrong.

I wouldn’t call the book a classic because so much is still unknown about human physiology that it will have to be thoroughly rewritten in ten years. But it does have some of the markings of a good work of literature—like an imagined world in a novel, one gets the sense that Bryson has a much deeper understanding of the human body than he sets down on the page. In other words, he could’ve written a one thousand page book if he had wanted to.

A rare combination of lively writing with an interesting and important subject. It’s hard to think of personal leisure time devoted to something more useful and enjoyable than in reading this book. Highly recommended.

169 people found this helpful

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J. K. Campbell

Bryson Does it Again

Reviewed in the United States on October 19, 2019

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Bill Bryson is an author who has the ability to make any subject both enjoyable and edifying. Whether the subject is his own childhood ("The Life and Times of the Thunderbolt Kid"), history ("One Summer"), or science ("A Short History of Nearly Everything"), he seems to be able to extract unique and humorous snippets of information about his subject and weave them into a narrative which is both pleasurable and educational. His relaxed style of writing makes the reader wish he could invite him over for a convivial evening of conversation. As a burnt-out retired physician I thought I would never again want to read anything about the human body, having spent over fifty years immersed in the topic every day. With his book Bryson has demonstrated that I did not know as much as I had thought. If I had read this book before starting medical school, the first two years of my education would have been decidedly less frightening and tedious.

122 people found this helpful

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V. L. Wilson

UP TO DATE TOUR OF OUR BODIES AND MORE -- HIGHLY RECOMMEND THIS BOOK

Reviewed in the United States on October 20, 2019

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I enjoyed reading this straight thru on my Kindle with admiration for all the author's careful research. Having read all his previous books, I was prepared for his humor and I knew this would both educational and enjoyable. As a senior citizen, cancer survivor, heart attack survivor and happy great-grandmother, I learned a lot of up to date information. Thanks for a great book! Perhaps I'll live to a 100? Love those stories!

79 people found this helpful

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Top reviews from other countries

Gayle Walker

Needs explanatory illustrations

Reviewed in the United Kingdom on October 5, 2019

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First look - Not enough illustrative pictures of body as I expected - interview on BBC made it look /sound as though there would be relevant MRI images. As a medical professional I long for Joe Public to have better knowledge & awareness about the workings of their body. Which would help them to understand preventative messages & management approaches. Not yet sure whether this will help or meet those needs. Everyone needs to take responsibility for their health & prevent / avoid ill-health.

81 people found this helpful

Cliff

I'm not sure...

Reviewed in the United Kingdom on October 14, 2019

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Having recently read Professor Alice Roberts' Don't Die Young where she covers our vital organs in depth BUT succinctly and with greater clarity - and brevity - I found myself glazing over with the avalanche of facts, figures and diversions in Bill's books such that nothing sticks in my memory.

I appreciate that this is a very personal reaction and that others will find it both educational and rewarding - just not me.

Sorry Bill, I'm normally a great fan.

50 people found this helpful

Millwally

Users guide to the body

Reviewed in the United Kingdom on October 3, 2019

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Purchased both the audio book and the book. Very informative as ever from Bill Bryson. Love his style of writing and keeps the reader engaged every step of the way. Please don’t wait so long before writing the next book.

24 people found this helpful

Julie Pearson

Disappointed in the book hopefully not the content.

Reviewed in the United Kingdom on October 3, 2019

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Big blob of dry glue on the bottom of the book, couldn’t open properly.

25 people found this helpful

S. Evans

Not for me

Reviewed in the United Kingdom on February 8, 2020

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Bill Bryson is unquestionably my favourite author, of hundreds, and I feel awful giving a less than five star review of anything from this wonderful guy. But sorry, The Body is not for me. As always, the research is immaculate, with Bryson going to his usual lengths, and with such a light touch, to describe how so much came to be known about the frames we all inhabit. I had expected to be as entranced as I was by his Encyclopaedia (of almost everything), but for some reason it just would not happen. I tried really hard, and ploughed (sorry, but that's how it felt) almost half way through before I gave up, inexplicably bored and not really wanting any more. Perhaps I am the very antithesis of a hypochondriac - for instance I hate most things that are good for me - or suffer from something not yet covered in the book. Whatever, I will remain in ignorance.

5 people found this helpful

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