Adventures in Human Being
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Adventures in Human Being by Gavin Francis
We have a lifetime's association with our bodies, but for many of us they remain uncharted territory. In Adventures in Human Being, Gavin Francis leads the reader on a journey through health and illness, offering insights on everything from the ribbed surface of the brain to the secret workings of the heart and the womb; from the pulse of life at the wrist to the unique engineering of the foot. Drawing on his own experiences as a doctor and GP, he blends first-hand case studies with reflections on the way the body has been imagined and portrayed over the millennia. If the body is a foreign country, then to practise medicine is to explore new territory: Francis leads the reader on an adventure through what it means to be human. Both a user's guide to the body and a celebration of its elegance, this book will transform the way you think about being alive, whether in sickness or in health. Published in association with the Wellcome Collection. WELLCOME COLLECTION is the free museum and library for the incurably curious. It explores the connections between medicine, life and art in the past, present and future. It is part of Wellcome, a global charitable foundation that exists to improve health for everyone by helping great ideas thrive.
A sober and beautiful book about the landscape of the human body: thought-provoking and eloquent* Hilary Mantel *
Wonderful, subtle, unpretentious ... produces a kind of complicity between the author, the reader, and the subject * John Berger *
I read this book transfixed... The style is crisp and fast and the human tales irresistible. I was left with many nuggets. -- Melanie Reid * The Times *
In Francis's beautifully written, exquisitely thoughtful, and completely captivating cartography, the body is a superbly-lit museum filled with treasures, and Dr. Francis the perfect guide who deftly weaves together science and story to reveal the wondrous flesh-and-blood underpinnings of our daily lives. It's a spellbinding view. -- Diane Ackerman, author of The Zookeeper’s Wife and The Human Age
So enthralling and so well written that it should win its own clutch of prizes... immensely engaging and often unexpected. His achievement here is to guide readers through his special landscape with such eloquence and subtlety. -- Nick Rennison * Sunday Times *
Grand, eloquent stuff, occasionally humorous, frequently moving and invariably informative... The end result is a thoroughly entertaining, provocative work. -- Robin McKie * The Observer *
A quietly radical, three-dimensional view of issues such as reproduction, birth, death and disability that has the power, at times, to make you stop mid-sentence and carefully reassess some of your most basic assumptions... its greatest strength is its profound yet understated compassion. * The Scotsman *
The joy of Mr Francis's work lies in the fact that although he delights in the body's physical reality, he takes care not to reduce human experience to that alone. * The Economist *
A beautifully written, elegant series of essays - both medical and literary - that conveys wonderfully well the fascination, mystery and beauty that is to be found in our bodies. -- Henry Marsh
Adventures in Human Being could be described as a road map to the flesh, written by a guide who is scrupulously attentive to the details of how we work and exquisitely aware of the glimpses of the soul behind the machinery. Francis is not only an experienced doctor but also steeped in both the classics and contemporary literature. His breadth is not just impressive but entirely convincing. -- John Burnside * New Statesman *
A wise and lyrical tour of the human body -- Kirsty Logan * The Scottish Herald *
A beautifully written guide to our wonders and weaknesses that combines the precision of science with a profound insight into the human condition. -- P D Smith * Guardian *
Wonderful, subtle, unpretentious ... produces a kind of complicity between the author, the reader, and the subject * John Berger *
I read this book transfixed... The style is crisp and fast and the human tales irresistible. I was left with many nuggets. -- Melanie Reid * The Times *
In Francis's beautifully written, exquisitely thoughtful, and completely captivating cartography, the body is a superbly-lit museum filled with treasures, and Dr. Francis the perfect guide who deftly weaves together science and story to reveal the wondrous flesh-and-blood underpinnings of our daily lives. It's a spellbinding view. -- Diane Ackerman, author of The Zookeeper’s Wife and The Human Age
So enthralling and so well written that it should win its own clutch of prizes... immensely engaging and often unexpected. His achievement here is to guide readers through his special landscape with such eloquence and subtlety. -- Nick Rennison * Sunday Times *
Grand, eloquent stuff, occasionally humorous, frequently moving and invariably informative... The end result is a thoroughly entertaining, provocative work. -- Robin McKie * The Observer *
A quietly radical, three-dimensional view of issues such as reproduction, birth, death and disability that has the power, at times, to make you stop mid-sentence and carefully reassess some of your most basic assumptions... its greatest strength is its profound yet understated compassion. * The Scotsman *
The joy of Mr Francis's work lies in the fact that although he delights in the body's physical reality, he takes care not to reduce human experience to that alone. * The Economist *
A beautifully written, elegant series of essays - both medical and literary - that conveys wonderfully well the fascination, mystery and beauty that is to be found in our bodies. -- Henry Marsh
Adventures in Human Being could be described as a road map to the flesh, written by a guide who is scrupulously attentive to the details of how we work and exquisitely aware of the glimpses of the soul behind the machinery. Francis is not only an experienced doctor but also steeped in both the classics and contemporary literature. His breadth is not just impressive but entirely convincing. -- John Burnside * New Statesman *
A wise and lyrical tour of the human body -- Kirsty Logan * The Scottish Herald *
A beautifully written guide to our wonders and weaknesses that combines the precision of science with a profound insight into the human condition. -- P D Smith * Guardian *
Gavin Francis is a GP, and the author of True North and Empire Antarctica: Ice, Silence & Emperor Penguins, which won the Scottish Book of the Year Award and was shortlisted for the Ondaatje Prize and Costa Prize. He also writes for Guardian, The Times, London Review of Books and Granta. He lives in Edinburgh with his wife and children.
| SKU | Unavailable |
| ISBN 13 | 9781781253410 |
| ISBN 10 | 1781253412 |
| Title | Adventures in Human Being |
| Author | Gavin Francis |
| Condition | Unavailable |
| Binding Type | Hardback |
| Publisher | Profile Books Ltd |
| Year published | 2015-04-30 |
| Number of pages | 256 |
| Prizes | Short-listed for Saltire Society Scottish Non-Fiction Book of the Year Award 2015 |
| Cover note | Book picture is for illustrative purposes only, actual binding, cover or edition may vary. |
| Note | Unavailable |