Difference between revisions of "Physiology (book)"

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'''''Physiology: All You Need to Know About How Your Body Works''''' is a nonfiction popular [[physiology]] book edited by [[Peter Abrahams]] and published in 2007.
 
'''''Physiology: All You Need to Know About How Your Body Works''''' is a nonfiction popular [[physiology]] book edited by [[Peter Abrahams]] and published in 2007.
  
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==Personal==
 
I bought this book on a clearance shelf. The heavy use of illustrations and diagrams convinced me to buy it.
 
I bought this book on a clearance shelf. The heavy use of illustrations and diagrams convinced me to buy it.
  
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===Bad===
 
===Bad===
* The book only skims the surface of each organ and system it discusses. The information is educational, but Only offers high school level descriptions.
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* The read-from-anywhere structure often backfires by using terms or principles the reader won't know unless they've read from several other sections first. Also, the authors frequently use specific medical jargon without explaining it first which makes several of the sections too complex for beginners.
* The read-from-anywhere structure often backfires by using topics or principles the reader won't know unless they've read from several other sections, as well as some that aren't even covered in the book.
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* The book is completely lacking citations. For well-established information, this is expected, but the book makes several esoteric claims that I would expect at least a basic description of the study, but everything is simply presented as fact.
* Though the diagrams are on point, a lot of the photos are just stock photos; they're related to the topic, but they don't convey any useful information.
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* The paragraph descriptions often describe organelles or systems that are not displayed on the accompanying diagrams. This makes it difficult to picture what they've written about.
* I spotted the rare spelling error and typo. For example, in the section on lungs, the book says the average lung capacity is 55 liters instead of 5.
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* Though the diagrams are helpful, most of the photos are just stock photos; they're related to the topic, but they don't convey any useful information. Also, the vast majority of the models in the photos are white.
* It's minor, but the cover is terrible.
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* The section "How we smell" has dubious claims about pheromones, menstrual synchrony, and the evolution of human smell with citing any references. The section on smoking says that acupuncture and hypnosis are "reputed" to alleviate cravings, but, again, no evidence is given.
 +
* I spotted the rare spelling error, missing punctuation, and typo. For example, in the section on lungs, the book says the average lung capacity is not 5, but 55 liters!
 +
* It's minor, but the cover is a terrible clip-art mess.
  
 
===Ugly===
 
===Ugly===

Revision as of 10:15, 21 April 2020

2009 paperback reprint.

Physiology: All You Need to Know About How Your Body Works is a nonfiction popular physiology book edited by Peter Abrahams and published in 2007.

Personal

I bought this book on a clearance shelf. The heavy use of illustrations and diagrams convinced me to buy it.

Status

I own a 2009 reprint paperback and am currently reading it.

Review

Good

  • An amateur-level description of scores of the body's organs and systems are describe.
  • The book is full color and fully illustrated with hundreds of diagrams and photos.
  • The book uses a magazine style layout which allows you to easily flip to any page and read about any topic without any prerequisite knowledge.

Bad

  • The read-from-anywhere structure often backfires by using terms or principles the reader won't know unless they've read from several other sections first. Also, the authors frequently use specific medical jargon without explaining it first which makes several of the sections too complex for beginners.
  • The book is completely lacking citations. For well-established information, this is expected, but the book makes several esoteric claims that I would expect at least a basic description of the study, but everything is simply presented as fact.
  • The paragraph descriptions often describe organelles or systems that are not displayed on the accompanying diagrams. This makes it difficult to picture what they've written about.
  • Though the diagrams are helpful, most of the photos are just stock photos; they're related to the topic, but they don't convey any useful information. Also, the vast majority of the models in the photos are white.
  • The section "How we smell" has dubious claims about pheromones, menstrual synchrony, and the evolution of human smell with citing any references. The section on smoking says that acupuncture and hypnosis are "reputed" to alleviate cravings, but, again, no evidence is given.
  • I spotted the rare spelling error, missing punctuation, and typo. For example, in the section on lungs, the book says the average lung capacity is not 5, but 55 liters!
  • It's minor, but the cover is a terrible clip-art mess.

Ugly

  • Nothing.

Links

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