Adventures in Human Being

Gavin Francis

Basic Books

2015

272 páginas

9h 4m

ISBN-13: 9780465079681

We assume we know our bodies well, but how many of us really understand why seizures occur, or why cataracts obscure our vision, or why our livers can regenerate? InAdventures in Human Being, Gavin Francis leads readers on a journey into the hidden pathways of the human body, from the brain's pea-sized pineal glandthe so-called seat of the soulto the delicate machinery of the foot. Drawing on his work as a physician as well as his experiences traveling and practicing medicine throughout the world, Francis blends case studies and episodes from medical history, philosophy, and literature to describe the body in sickness and in health, in living and in dying. At its heart, Adventures in Human Being is a meditation on what it means to be human. Poetic, eloquent, and profoundly perceptive,Adventures in Human Being will transform the way you view your body.