Praise for Bill Bryson’s

“ A fact-studded survey of our physiques, inside and out….Mr. Bryson…writes better, is more amusing and has greater mastery of his material than anyone else….Mr. Bryson is a master explainer, with a gift for the pithy simile and all-encompassing metaphor….Brisk, provocative and entertaining throughout.”

— The Wall Street Journal

“ A witty, informative immersion…. The Body —a delightful, anecdote-propelled read—proves one of [Bryson’s] most ambitious yet, as he leads us on a head-to-toe tour of a physique that’s terra incognita to many of us….Playful, lucid….[ The Body ] cover[s] a remarkably large swathe of human corporeal and cerebral experience.”

— The Boston Globe

“ Bill Bryson can take any topic and spool it into the most entertaining thing you’ve ever read….Bryson demonstrates his gift for putting science in layman’s terms, deftly melding the most incredible statistics with wit to expose humorous and fascinating aspects of the human condition.” — BookPage (starred review)

“ Full of humor….Celebratory. The author marvels at the intricacies of the human body and its extraordinary feats of timing and fine-tuning. He digs into history to show the persistence and tribulations of researchers. He describes the amazing feats of medicine and surgery accomplished in the last few decades….This fact-packed, story-strewn volume is a fascinating read.”

— The Washington Times

“ Amazing….Like an adventurer trekking the Appalachian Trail from beginning to end (as this bestselling author did for A Walk in the Woods ), Bryson launches himself into the wilderness of the human anatomy armed with his characteristic thoroughness and wit….Bryson is adept at finding the bizarre and the arcane in his subject matter.” — USA Today

“ A directory of wonders….Extraordinary….A tour of the minuscule; it aims to do for the human body what his A Short History of Nearly Everything did for science….The prose motors gleefully along, a finely tuned engine running on jokes, factoids and biographical interludes….Wry, companionable, avuncular and always lucid….[ The Body ] could stand as an ultimate prescription for life.”

— The Guardian

“ Readable and useful….[Bryson] asks all the questions a layperson doesn’t dare to ask for fear of exposing humiliating ignorance, then answers them in witty, jargon-free prose that glides you through four hundred pages. It’s fun to read because it’s not just comprehensive, but quirky….Bryson thrives.” — The Times (London)

“ With light-footed prose, The Body winds its way through the dense terrain of anatomy, physiology, and biochemistry….The result is an absorbing catalog of the human body in all its firmness and frailty….The colossal roster of facts on display is dazzling.”

— The American Scholar

“ [Bryson] keeps the science lively by interweaving facts and statistics with anecdotes, interviews with scientists and doctors, and his trademark dry humor….Bryson has shaped an enormous amount of anatomy and physiology into an informative and entertaining biostory.” — Library Journal