Having read his book Periodic Tales and really enjoyed this, I was really looking forward to this one.

The book is split into three sections, The Whole, The Parts and The future.

The first section looks at the the history of anatomy, from the grim ways that early medical studies were undertaken on cadavers that were acquired from executions or other dubious means. There are lots of gross things in this part, I won't enlighten you completely, but it was a grim and sordid task. He also gets to meet his first dead body.

In the second section he goes on to look at separate significant body parts, from the head to the feet, and lots of the bits in-between internal and external. There are lots of facts and anecdotes in all the separate chapters, and he does describe his first dissection of a pigs eye.

The final section is on the future of the human body, and the enhancements that are now available from replacement limbs to medical advances that keep people alive.

He writes in an engaging style, and assumes that if you have picked this up then you will not be a doctor or biologist. The facts are presented clearly, and he does participate in events from watching dissections to sketching nudes for the chapter on skin. Well worth a read if you have managed to avoid biology since school! ( )

I read the book in preparation for a lecture I was to give concerning the amazing human body. I had brushed up on the anatomical part earlier, through Michael Sims magnificent Adam's Navel, and wanted to enlarge my knowledge and add useful and interesting information.

In that the present book did help, by providing not so much physiological as cultural facts. It also showed me ways of demonstrating the operating of the body through activities I had not thought of previously.

An enjoyable read, but don't expect too much physiology. It concentrates very successfully on the culture of the body, of its perception as a cultural phenomenon and adds ideas and fresh viewpoints. Recommended. ( )

Anatomies : A Cultural History of the Human Body by Hugh Aldersey- Williams is sort of a survey of the cultural background of the body. That means that the subject matter can stretch very far. I enjoyed reading about the topics that he picked out. The book reads smoothly and I think is best when to read a few chapters at time so you can have "sink in" time.

I had the unusual circumstance of reading about MRI machines while I was waiting to have a brain MRI. So the facts were doubly fascinating to me. I had taken several course in college related to this subject.

Some facts were familiar to me but others were not. I managed to get through life without realizing that the right lung has three lobes and the left only six. But there are many entrancing facts to learn from this book.

1. Ever wonder where Shakespeare got the expression of a pound of flesh?
2. Why we have fewer bones in our body than when we are born?
3. What part of the brain was Einstein missing?

I highly recommend this book for all who are curious and those who love learning about our bodies.

I received this book as a win from FirstReads but that in no way determined my thoughts or feelings in this review. ( )

An enjoyable trawl through the body. Not an extensive biological book, but informative nonetheless. I spent a good fifteen minutes contorting my hand into a silly pose to confirm what I was reading at one point.
Occasionally the author seems to enjoy his cultural references and own prose a tad too much. I also suspect he's a terrible dinner party name dropper.
However, a likable read and had my reading not been rudely interrupted by the inconvenience of having to finish my dissertation, probably a quick one too. I'm definitely inclined to read his Periodic Tales book now. ( )