Your Body: The Missing Manual

I bought this book for its title, and this time the book was known by its cover! What a delight! Clear prose, simple, well-crafted drawings, and cogent discussions of all the systems of the body make this both a delightful and informative read. Remarkably good guide for healthy living.

Like all of O'Reilly publisher's Missing Manual Series this small handbook provides accurate information in an easily "digestible" form to all of the major topics one needs to own, use and enjoy their complicated possessions. In this case the major organ and physiological systems of the human body are carefully explained both in structure, function, the ways to maintain them, and in the ways they break down. Clear jargon-free but technically precise explanations and illustrations are given for each of the major parts and functional systems of your body. You won't find the answer to every possible medical question you might have but, accurate well-explained and well illustrated descriptions are given about how the body works, how it can be kept in shape, and how it is liable to malfunction. This short text is needed in every person's library if they hope to care for their miraculous body and it will clearly and accurately answer most "user's" questions in health and disease through all phases of life. It is entirely more accurate than most health information on the web and more understandable than other accurate sources. I do hope that it may be someday supplemented by an O'Reilly hacker's guide to the body like "Mind Hacks". --Ira Laefsky

Your Body- The Missing Manual is a thorough description of how the body works and the classic breakdowns inherent with the passage of time. The work describes the major systems; such as, the outer layer, fat, muscles, bones, sensory, lungs, heart, digestion, the immune system, reproduction, aging and death. Some classic descriptions include the heart healthy zone, fitness, the aerobic zone, the threshold zone and the red zone. The immune system can overact by attacking harmless environmental substances like dust and pollen. Allergy goes hand-in-hand with inflammation. We can improve the immune system via a balanced diet, stress avoidance, rest and an optimistic outlook. Overly prescribed antibiotics, unnecessary antibacterial products and a dirty environment can exacerbate immune system reactivity. Removing the irritants can reduce the symptomatology of an irregular immune system substantially. The author spends some time explaining how we die and the classic experiences reported in near death cases. For instance, the average death starts with the rapid descent. This process is a steady weakening of the body systems over time. The moments before death include the agonal phase which consists of muscle convulsions, gasps and a gurgling sound called the death rattle. At some point, the heart stops and the body begins to cool. The book doesn't say how to slow the process of rapid descent; however, nutrition and exercise may be important intervention strategies along with stress reduction and a positive outlook. Removal of overly prescribed medicines may be another element in maintaining life together with superior nutrition strategies. The book would be an excellent acquisition for health conscious consumers who would like to get a better understanding of how the body works.

Your Body: The Missing Manual is an excellent introduction to the inner workings of your body. The book covers everything from your skin, to your intestines, to what happens during aging and death. When reading a book that will impart knowledge, it is important for me to know the information is as factual as possible. MacDonald and staff did an excellent job of informing the reader that as with all things, there is always the unknown and that they do the best they can to provide the most current information possible. To do this, there were two technical reviewers employed to fact check the information. Also, if a reader knows of updated information, they will research the lead and add it if it is verifiable. You can also go to the publishers website and review any updated information there. Information about the body or any scientific information is normally dry. MacDonald does a good job infusing moderately funny humor into the text to spice it up a bit. The information in the book is basic. I found the things I knew little about to be incredibly interesting. The things I knew, I tended to gloss over. For example, the information on skin and how it works really fascinated me. The section on muscles and how to strengthen and tone them I already knew and the information was less interesting. The information, though basic, is thorough. The Body: The Missing Manual is an excellent resource on the human body and would be great for the home library or a young adult showing interest in science or biology.

This book is a member of the O'Reilly Missing Manual series, long a favorite of mostly the geek crowd for filling in material that may have been left out of or been hard to find in the owner's manual. The subtitle is "The book you should have been born with." The chapter headings are listed below: Skin, Your Outer Layer Fat Muscles Bones The Doors of Perception (the senses) Your Lungs Your Heart Your Digestive System Your Immune System Sex and Reproduction Your Final Exit: Aging and Death The book introduces each subject with a description of the normal workings of the organ (its physiology). It then briefly discusses what can go wrong (what doctors call pathology). Practical tips for routine maintenance and health are discussed, many myths are shot down. A number of interesting factoids are discussed in text boxes that are enhanced visually by a yellow or blue background. This book is a good introduction to the subject matter, but is incomplete in many areas. e.g. I could not find a list of generally accepted screening recommendations in the book, things like suggested frequency of blood pressure screening, when should a statin drug be considered in a patient with high cholesterol, the importance of knowing your HDL and LDL cholesterol values and not just your total cholesterol, how often should woman have Pap smears and mammograms, should a man have a PSA test done. These are a few of many issues that might have been addressed and weren't. On the other hand several pages are addressed to love-making techniques, how to use and not abuse the clitoris, and does penile size make a difference in sexual satisfaction of the woman. Alcohol is briefly discussed, not in relation to health, but rather sexual performance. Ovulation, the release of the egg from the woman is nicely discussed, including the need for intercourse to occur near the time of ovulation to improve the chances of conception. Some common and practical issues aren't addressed, e.g. what is dandruff and how does one control it? Decisions must be made in deciding to limit the information in a book, but it might be more important to list more of the common things and less of the things one is unlikely to face in life. There is a 16 page index. The contributors are listed in the front pages of the book. The "technical" reviewer is listed as a medical student due to graduate in 2 years. The book might have been better served by enlisting a practicing physician who is more versed in the practical aspects of providing directed and economical health care to his patients. A strength of the book is its emphasis on the importance of life style choices and their effects on health. There is no question that for many of us, our life styles have more to do with our health than the medicines we take or the number of visits we make to the doctor. For most electronic devices we purchase, we receive both a User's Manual and a Quick Start Guide. This book is more of a Quick Start Guide, a tantali