[Book Review] The Body by Bill Bryson

While I was curious about Bill Bryson's other books, which are renowned for their travelogues, I decided to start with 'The Body' primarily because of the group members' growing interest in health.

Provocatively, the first chapter is titled 'How to Build a Person'. Apparently, Bryson's middle school teacher (probably a science teacher) once said that to acquire the chemicals needed to build a human, one could simply go to a hardware store with about $5. I wondered how many science teachers in our country would explain it this way and immediately got lost in the book. Bryson's greatest strength lies in his ability to make complex topics easily accessible. How can he unravel the intricate functions of the human body, a field that would normally be divided into anatomy and physiology in academic settings? It made me think that 'who' writes something might be more important than 'what' they write. Thanks to this, I could comfortably accept the 'human body' as an object, even though it is my own body, yet somehow unfamiliar to me.

Before reading the book, I was most curious about the digestive system, the nervous system and pain, and the immune system. I wanted to learn more about the areas I felt were weak. However, as I read, I realized that knowing only specific parts wouldn't be enough. After all, every seemingly disparate part of the body works together to maintain the body, i.e., for survival, so they have no choice but to cooperate.

Of course, our bodies are still in the process of evolution, so there are many imperfections, and Bryson reminds us of this fact. He also reminds us that our bodies are constantly striving to function at their best. It's almost surprising that we are not sick, given our exposure to countless diseases, highlighting how much our bodies do for us. Jablonksi wrote, “Losing most of the body hair and gaining the ability to dissipate excess body heat through sweat glands helped the brain, the most temperature-sensitive organ, to grow dramatically.” In other words, sweat has greatly contributed to our intelligence. (From the book) I was astonished to learn that even sweating played a significant role in human evolution. I felt like I had a newfound appreciation for my body while reading this book. Inspired by this book, I wanted to explore more books on the human body and diseases. Of course, I'm worried that there might not be any books that explain things as easily and entertainingly as Bryson does.