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The Human Body: Its Structure and Operation
Bones, organs, muscles, skin - what we are inside and out - is described in exact and lucid detail by a famous scientist-writer. Isaac Asimov explains the structure and operation of the human body from the basic skeleton to the mysterious and awesome reproductive system. The Human Body is a superbly up-to-date and informative study of our anatomy and physiology - a work that makes science understandable and exciting to the layman. Illustrative drawings by the noted artist Anthony Ravielli highlight the text.
- GenresScienceNonfictionBiology
352 pages, Mass Market Paperback
First published January 1, 1963
13 people are currently reading
360 people want to read
About the author
Isaac Asimov
2,771 books27.6k followersWorks of prolific Russian-American writer Isaac Asimov include popular explanations of scientific principles,
The Foundation Trilogy
(1951-1953), and other volumes of fiction.
Isaac Asimov, a professor of biochemistry, wrote as a highly successful author, best known for his books.
Asimov, professor, generally considered of all time, edited more than five hundred books and ninety thousand letters and postcards. He published in nine of the ten major categories of the Dewey decimal classification but lacked only an entry in the category of philosophy (100).
People widely considered Asimov, a master of the genre alongside Robert Anson Heinlein and Arthur Charles Clarke as the "big three" during his lifetime. He later tied Galactic Empire and the Robot into the same universe as his most famous series to create a unified "future history" for his stories much like those that Heinlein pioneered and Cordwainer Smith and Poul Anderson previously produced. He penned "Nightfall," voted in 1964 as the best short story of all time; many persons still honor this title. He also produced well mysteries, fantasy, and a great quantity of nonfiction. Asimov used Paul French, the pen name, for the Lucky Starr, series of juvenile novels.
Most books of Asimov in a historical way go as far back to a time with possible question or concept at its simplest stage. He often provides and mentions well nationalities, birth, and death dates for persons and etymologies and pronunciation guides for technical terms. Guide to Science, the tripartite set Understanding Physics, and Chronology of Science and Discovery exemplify these books.
Asimov, a long-time member, reluctantly served as vice president of Mensa international and described some members of that organization as "brain-proud and aggressive about their IQs." He took more pleasure as president of the humanist association. The asteroid 5020 Asimov, the magazine Asimov's Science Fiction, an elementary school in Brooklyn in New York, and two different awards honor his name.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Isaac_As...
Isaac Asimov, a professor of biochemistry, wrote as a highly successful author, best known for his books.
Asimov, professor, generally considered of all time, edited more than five hundred books and ninety thousand letters and postcards. He published in nine of the ten major categories of the Dewey decimal classification but lacked only an entry in the category of philosophy (100).
People widely considered Asimov, a master of the genre alongside Robert Anson Heinlein and Arthur Charles Clarke as the "big three" during his lifetime. He later tied Galactic Empire and the Robot into the same universe as his most famous series to create a unified "future history" for his stories much like those that Heinlein pioneered and Cordwainer Smith and Poul Anderson previously produced. He penned "Nightfall," voted in 1964 as the best short story of all time; many persons still honor this title. He also produced well mysteries, fantasy, and a great quantity of nonfiction. Asimov used Paul French, the pen name, for the Lucky Starr, series of juvenile novels.
Most books of Asimov in a historical way go as far back to a time with possible question or concept at its simplest stage. He often provides and mentions well nationalities, birth, and death dates for persons and etymologies and pronunciation guides for technical terms. Guide to Science, the tripartite set Understanding Physics, and Chronology of Science and Discovery exemplify these books.
Asimov, a long-time member, reluctantly served as vice president of Mensa international and described some members of that organization as "brain-proud and aggressive about their IQs." He took more pleasure as president of the humanist association. The asteroid 5020 Asimov, the magazine Asimov's Science Fiction, an elementary school in Brooklyn in New York, and two different awards honor his name.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Isaac_As...
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Displaying 1 - 15 of 15 reviews
June 17, 2009
Very technical book, but I learned a lot about the body in this book.
January 7, 2024
Как популяризатор, Айзек Азимов для меня кажется на две головы выше, нежели писатель-фантаст. Человек необыкновенной эрудированности, энциклопедических знаний, написавший не менее сотни научно-популярных книг, относящихся ко всем основным областям научно-культурной деятельности - от физики и биологии до религиоведения и литературной критики, он тем не менее свободен от очень распространенного среди ученых, снизошедших до популярной литературы, недостатка - у Азимова нет снобизма, он уважает своего читателя, он разжует любую подробность до состояния абсолютной ясности. В Азимове есть что-то от буддиста, только он еще круче - он не просто постиг дзен, но еще и отрефлексировал его и показал всем, как его можно постичь рациональным методом. Если у меня будет выбор из нескольких книг на одну тематику, я не глядя выберу Азимова. Он бессмертен, от него исходит сияние. Как-то так.
June 25, 2020
At or near the top of my all-time favorite non-fiction books. If I’d discovered this book first in high school (instead of later in college) I might have chosen medicine over engineering. A great introduction to a fascinating subject written in the clear, engaging and accessible style that Asimov is famous for.
August 31, 2024
Very well written, informative, lucid, and at times witty. I love how Asimov was so prolific that anytime he feels the reader might be inclined to learn more about a particular subject in greater detail he can just refer them to another book he himself has written (he does so at least a dozen times here). The illustrations by Anthony Ravielli are the perfect accompaniment.
November 29, 2017
This book could be interesting for everyone who wants to know about human anatomy. All specific words are explained in a good way with a great number of examples.
July 22, 2012
Pretty good basic anatomy book, written in an engaging way. In addition to "structure and operation" of the basic human body systems (skeletal, muscular, respiratory, circulatory, digestive, excretory and reproductive -- nervous and endocrine systems are apparently covered in a separate volume), Asimov also compares these systems to those of other life forms. I like that because this approach is useful for understanding how bodies are a certain way, and not some other way, because of environmental factors to which evolution responded.
Asimov also tries to give some idea of the etymology of most anatomical terms, which is useful if you want to remember them better.
There's a touch of sexism, mainly (1) when Asimov tries to add some interest to a discussion of physical differences between the sexes by noting that the feature under discussion makes women more appealing to men, or (2) when he's describing some easily observable feature of disease (e.g. fever, rash) by saying that this is something mothers (not "parents") quickly notice.
He occasionally mentions race, usually to explain the probable evolutionary reasons for human differences in skin color, hair texture, nose shape, etc. I think mostly he manages to discuss race in an unobjectionable way, except for one unnecessary passage in which he refers to a subject unhappily associated with Sarah Baartman, and a couple of passing descriptions of nipples, e.g. as pink which make it clear that he imagines the reader of the book to be a white person.
Asimov also tries to give some idea of the etymology of most anatomical terms, which is useful if you want to remember them better.
There's a touch of sexism, mainly (1) when Asimov tries to add some interest to a discussion of physical differences between the sexes by noting that the feature under discussion makes women more appealing to men, or (2) when he's describing some easily observable feature of disease (e.g. fever, rash) by saying that this is something mothers (not "parents") quickly notice.
He occasionally mentions race, usually to explain the probable evolutionary reasons for human differences in skin color, hair texture, nose shape, etc. I think mostly he manages to discuss race in an unobjectionable way, except for one unnecessary passage in which he refers to a subject unhappily associated with Sarah Baartman, and a couple of passing descriptions of nipples, e.g. as pink which make it clear that he imagines the reader of the book to be a white person.
May 4, 2013
"Although the mechanism of the human body is marvelous beyond words and can never be sufficiently admired, it is not perfect." - Isaac Asimov
This book is pretty out-dated when it comes to cellular biology and microscopic anatomy but it is a great overview of gross anatomy, especially for it's time (1963). Asimov has some interesting hypotheses regarding the evolutionary origin of many human traits. It would be interesting to compare his findings with those of modern DNA sequencing. In addition, the author gives the Latin, Greek, and Anglo-Saxon derivations of all of the technical terms, which adds an interesting linguistic twist to the reading. All in all, The Human Body: Its Structure and Operation is a pretty interesting read.
... I guess you never know what kind of gems you'll find hidden in your parents' library!
This book is pretty out-dated when it comes to cellular biology and microscopic anatomy but it is a great overview of gross anatomy, especially for it's time (1963). Asimov has some interesting hypotheses regarding the evolutionary origin of many human traits. It would be interesting to compare his findings with those of modern DNA sequencing. In addition, the author gives the Latin, Greek, and Anglo-Saxon derivations of all of the technical terms, which adds an interesting linguistic twist to the reading. All in all, The Human Body: Its Structure and Operation is a pretty interesting read.
... I guess you never know what kind of gems you'll find hidden in your parents' library!
August 8, 2016
Extremely informative and clearly written, directed at the layman which is useful (I'm a biologist myself, but all I know about is plants). A really very well done example of science communication.
I do think the title is inadequate, though. Much of this book is evolutionary biology, describing how specific organs developed and the similar features found in other organisms at other times. The chapter on the lungs, for example, talks about fish and frogs as well as humans. In some ways this book feels like an inspiration for Dawkins' The Ancestor's Tale, which I was reminded of while reading - but though I prefer the Dawkins book, the Asimov one is still very good indeed.
I do think the title is inadequate, though. Much of this book is evolutionary biology, describing how specific organs developed and the similar features found in other organisms at other times. The chapter on the lungs, for example, talks about fish and frogs as well as humans. In some ways this book feels like an inspiration for Dawkins' The Ancestor's Tale, which I was reminded of while reading - but though I prefer the Dawkins book, the Asimov one is still very good indeed.
October 6, 2014
continuing on my devouring of Asimov non-fiction. This is the first of his books on biology that I've attacked. This one was really good because in addition to explaining in his usual easy to understand style how the parts of the body work, he also draws parallels to how humans compare and contrast with other animals. Good stuff. learned a lot since my knowledge of bio is basically what I learned in freshman year of high school.
February 1, 2014
This is one of the nicest books on human anatomy I've read in a while. I really admire Asimov: I'm still baffled as to how one person could have written so many good books on so many different subjects.
December 25, 2012
This well help review and solidify various topics. Normally your information is not given to you as a pseudo-novel, but as a text book or lecture. This adds variety.
August 5, 2016
My favorite book for long car trips!
September 1, 2014
one of my favorite reads in H.S.
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August 24, 2008I love this book I need this book!!!!
April 29, 2017
A bit dated. He goes through most of the human body, with sidetrips into the way other animals' bodies do things. There's a promised companion volume, "The Human Brain" that will cover the brain & nervous system.
Displaying 1 - 15 of 15 reviews