Praise from Mary Roach: "A fascinating, lyrical book... Reisman's experiences in other cultures bring a richness and depth to The Unseen Body. The way he thinks about the body and medicine -- the rivers and tributaries, the flowing and unclogging, the top-down organization of the brain -- is extraordinary!"
About the Book
The Unseen Body is a lyrical journey through the human body and across the globe, in which Jonathan Reisman weaves together stories about our insides and his medical training with a unique perspective on life, culture and the natural world. In this one-of-a-kind educational odyssey, readers are treated to a wholly new take on the human body and unique look behind the scenes of the healthcare system. With eloquence and a meditative perspective, Reisman navigates our insides like an explorer discovering a new world, all while answering such offbeat questions as why urine is the most fascinating bodily fluid, why the throat is so foolishly designed, and why lungs are illegal to sell as human food in the US.
Reisman brings tales from his adventurous medical career and peculiar interests outside of medicine in order to glean insights from unexpected places – working in the Alaskan Arctic reveals that fat is not the enemy he was taught to see it as, and a stint treating high-altitude sickness in the Himalayas becomes a search for where the brain ends and the mind begins. His rich experiences reveal the intimate connections between seemingly disparate worlds, from the body’s insides to far-flung lands and exotic cultures.
The Unseen Body is a collection of stories about body parts and bodily fluids, but also a medical travelogue offering penetrating insights about life and our relationship to the world around us. Jonathan’s lyrical prose offers a new and deeply moving perspective on everything from eyeballs to mucus, and helps us make sense of our bodies and how they work in a way readers have never seen before.
Reisman brings tales from his adventurous medical career and peculiar interests outside of medicine in order to glean insights from unexpected places – working in the Alaskan Arctic reveals that fat is not the enemy he was taught to see it as, and a stint treating high-altitude sickness in the Himalayas becomes a search for where the brain ends and the mind begins. His rich experiences reveal the intimate connections between seemingly disparate worlds, from the body’s insides to far-flung lands and exotic cultures.
The Unseen Body is a collection of stories about body parts and bodily fluids, but also a medical travelogue offering penetrating insights about life and our relationship to the world around us. Jonathan’s lyrical prose offers a new and deeply moving perspective on everything from eyeballs to mucus, and helps us make sense of our bodies and how they work in a way readers have never seen before.
