27 | 21.2.2012 | 3 months ago
I posted about “STIFF” a little while ago, after reading some recommendations on books, and after reading the first chapter on Amazon, I got it and another book, “MUTANTS”, and they came in today!
STIFF: The Curious Lives of Human Cadavers by Mary Roach
“Stiff is an oddly compelling, often hilarious exploration of the strange lives of our bodies postmortem. For two thousand years, cadavers - some willingly, some unwittingly - have been involved in science’s boldest strides and weirdest undertakings. In this fascinating account, Mary Roach visits the good deeds of cadavers over the centuries and tells the engrossing story of our bodies when we are no longer with them.”
MUTANTS: On Genetic Variety and the Human Body by Armand Marie Leroi
“Stepping effortlessly from myth to cutting-edge science, Mutants gives a brilliant narrative account of our genetic code and the captivating people whose bodies have revealed it - a French convent girl who found herself changing sex upon puberty; children who, echoing Homer’s Cyclops, are born with a single eye in the middle of their foreheads; the much acclaimed ‘Armless Fiddler’ who played the violin with his toes. One family, whose bodies were entirely covered with hair, was kept at the Burmese royal court for four generations and gave Darwin one of his keenest insights into heredity. This elegant, humane, and engaging book ‘is a testament to both the ingenuity of organic life and the protean nature of what it means to be human’ (Natural History).”
