Secrets of the Human Body

This beautiful and imaginative work, published as a companion to a BBC documentary series of the same title, combines gorgeous photography and digital effects with scientific detail to give readers new and illuminating views of the human body. Cohen, executive producer of the BBC series, and physician twin brothers Chris and Xand van Tulleken address readers in a conversational style and divide the book into sections on growth, learning, survival, and prospects for the evolution of the body. The book is packed with fascinating facts on the body’s intricacies and capabilities: the brain is almost fully grown by age 11; it creates two versions of a memory, but a long-term memory takes about two weeks to become fully recollectable; almost all humans are born with fears of falling and loud noises, but a woman with a rare genetic disorder called Urbach-Wiethe disease has been studied extensively because she literally cannot feel fear. The final chapter notes that neuroprosthetics such as cochlear implants and artificial retinas are probably just the beginning of technologies that might interact directly with or within human bodies. The book is a roller-coaster exploration of the body with stunning illustrations and extraordinary revelations throughout that should appeal to general readers. (Dec.)