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How the Body Works: The Facts Simply Explained

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Cómo funciona el cuerpo humano explora los maravillosos procesos que ocurren dentro nuestro propio cuerpo, normalmente, sin que nos demos cuenta de ello. �Por qué nos mareamos o sentimos mariposas en el estómago? �Qué ocurre cuando sentimos jetlag? Estas son solo algunas de las intrigantes preguntas a las que conseguir�s dar respuesta con este libro.

Aprender sobre el cuerpo humano nunca fue tan sencillo y divertido. Este libro apoya la comprensión de los textos con increíbles ilustraciones a color, las cuales muestran detalles y curiosidades que ayudan a descubrir todos los secretos que esconde nuestro cuerpo.

255 pages, Kindle Edition

First published May 3, 2016

191 people are currently reading
1931 people want to read

About the author

D.K. Publishing

9,126 books2,068 followers
Dorling Kindersley (DK) is a British multinational publishing company specializing in illustrated reference books for adults and children in 62 languages. It is part of Penguin Random House, a consumer publishing company jointly owned by Bertelsmann SE & Co. KGaA and Pearson PLC. Bertelsmann owns 53% of the company and Pearson owns 47%.

Established in 1974, DK publishes a range of titles in genres including travel (including Eyewitness Travel Guides), arts and crafts, business, history, cooking, gaming, gardening, health and fitness, natural history, parenting, science and reference. They also publish books for children, toddlers and babies, covering such topics as history, the human body, animals and activities, as well as licensed properties such as LEGO, Disney and DeLiSo, licensor of the toy Sophie la Girafe. DK has offices in New York, London, Munich, New Delhi, Toronto and Melbourne.

Source: Wikipedia.

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5 stars
228 (55%)
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44 (10%)
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 46 reviews
Profile Image for H (trying to keep up with GR friends) Balikov.
2,125 reviews819 followers
July 12, 2023
As many of my GR friends know, my trips to the local library often result in my being attracted to another oversized DK Publishing volume. I find their quality graphics and usually reliable text a desirable concoction. I particularly like the “the Facts Simply Explained” series and How the Body Works is another delight.

This isn’t just a pretty book, though it is visually striking. It shows a careful integration of text and graphics. I wish I could clip some of them for this review, but it is beyond my skill set. One that I would like to show you is the section on How the Liver Works. The liver is a complex organ, but this book skillfully makes everything understandable. Here is an excerpt.

“Once nutrients have entered the blood --- via the mouth, stomach, and intestines --- they are taken straight to the liver. Here, they are variously, stored, dismantled, or turned into something new. At any one time, the liver holds some 10 percent of the body’s blood supply.” One thing that is usually left unstated (but not here) is that the liver (and every other organ) is made up of various types of cell doing a variety of things. “The liver is made up of thousands of tiny factories called lobules. Each of these contains thousands of chemical processors called hepatocytes. These do all the liver’s work, albeit supported by Kupffer cells and stellate cells. Each lobule has a central outflowing vein and is six-sided, with each of its corners supporting two incoming blood supplies and an outflowing duct for bile”

If there are shortcomings to this book, they might be the overly brief discussions of the role of mitochondria and the lack of much explanation of the human microbiome. Perhaps the next edition will remedy this.
4.5
Profile Image for Pop Bop.
2,502 reviews125 followers
May 2, 2016
This Is The Real Deal

DK, which I recognized mostly from their Eyewitness Travel Guides, has begun to release a wide ranging selection of non-fiction books aimed mostly at younger to middle grade readers. So you've got ocean animal facts, general wildlife animal facts, bird books, history, natural history, cars and trains, space, geography, gems and minerals, and a whole host of other science guides. The reading levels vary, even within topics, from early readers through to more advanced readers. (There's even a separate series called "Big Ideas Simply Explained" which tries to present refreshers on a single topic, such as literature or world history, and which scales up to an adult readership.)

This book, though, struck me as unique because of its length and its high level of detail and complexity. This is not just some food-goes-in, food-goes-out body book, and it's certainly not a jokey Dummies style book. This is much closer to a text book, (actually a fairly advanced text book), if text books were loaded with high quality graphics and were aimed just a bit to the chatty side of the spectrum.

We cover cell structures and DNA, skeleton, muscles, nerves, circulatory and respiratory systems, sensory function, digestion, fitness and health, hormones and body chemistry, reproduction, and brain function. That's the general outline, anyway. Since everything's interrelated an effort is made to treat the body as a single integrated system, just viewed from different perspectives.

As you might expect, each topic starts off at a basic general level and then is developed in greater detail. There is running text that takes up maybe a quarter to a third of each page. Sidebars and factoid captions are superimposed over a wide range of detailed colorful graphics that otherwide fill the pages. So what you get isn't a text book and isn't an encyclopedia, but is more like a grown up and detailed picture book with high quality graphics. That makes the whole book feel like a little bit of a jumble, but also adds energy and enhances browsability.

The upshot for me was that this was interesting, educational, readable and attractive. For high schoolers all the way up to adults who might want to refresh their anatomy knowledge, and even for ambitious middle schoolers with an interest in the subject, this struck me as a solid and valuable resource.

(Please note that I received a free advance will-self-destruct-in-x-days Adobe Digital copy of this book in exchange for a candid review. Apart from that I have no connection at all to either the author or the publisher of this book.)
16 reviews3 followers
June 9, 2023
Highly recommend cho mọi người đọc cuốn sách này nha. Dành cho những ai luôn tò mò và muốn khám phá mọi thứ, cuốn sách này sẽ giải thích tất tần tật về các bộ phận, cơ quan trên cơ thể người từ kiến thức nhỏ nhất như hoạt động của tế bào đến phân tích từng ngóc ngách: cơ, máu, xương, các phản ứng hoá học trong cơ thể,… Cuốn sách này gần giống như Sinh học 101 nhưng được minh hoạ trực quan, rất dễ hiểu, cách trình bày và đặt vấn đề cũng rất logic. Cuốn sách trả lời nhiều câu hỏi mà có lẽ trước nay bạn đã từng tự hỏi nhưng chưa thử tìm hiểu như: Cách hệ miễn dịch hoạt động? Tại sao tai lại nghe được âm thanh? Tại sao mình giữ thăng bằng được? Tại sao khi buồn mình lại khóc? Gan có thể đa nhiệm thế nào?… Mình sẽ được hiểu cách hoạt động của các loại hoocmon oestrogen, serotonin, tesroteron, tế bào T, tế bào B, dopamine,… những thuật ngữ mình đã từng biết đến/ nghe qua trong quảng cáo thuốc.. thì giờ đây mình được liên kết vs thực tế và hiểu rõ chúng. Hiểu rõ về cách hoạt động của cơ thể mình sẽ có kiến thức để thực hiện chế độ ăn uống, tập luyện phù hợp/ hiểu tác động của các loại thuốc/ tiêm chủng đối với cơ thể cta thật tuyệt đúng ko nào? Hihi tri thức là sức mạnh.
Sau khi đọc xong cuốn sách mình nhận ra cơ thể chúng ta là một bộ máy phức tạp, tinh vi và tuyệt vời đến thế nào, mọi tế bào phối hợp với nhau và hoạt động ko ngừng nghỉ mới giúp chúng ta được khoẻ mạnh và chống lại các tác nhân gây hại từ môi trường. Thật sự kì diệu và đáng ngưỡng mộ á, mỗi s mỗi phút các tế bào của cơ thể chúng mình đều đang làm việc để cố gắng bảo vệ chúng ta. Để chúng mình có thể được hít thở, được cười toe toe như vậy là nỗ lực của hàng triệu tế bào và các cơ quan trong cơ thể nên mình phải biết ơn và trân trọng bản thân nghe, những tế bào nhỏ bé của mình đang cố gắng thì bản thân mình ko được phép lười biếng không chỉ trong học tập, công việc mà còn phải cố gắng sống khoẻ mạnh, vui vẻ nữa.
Một cuốn sách rất thú vị và đáng đọc nha, mình sẽ tìm đọc tiếp các quyển sách khác trong bộ sách này. Chúc bạn sẽ có một trải nghiệm zui. Xoxo
24 reviews5 followers
February 27, 2018
A very good book that explains everything that goes on in the body in an easy way to understand. I would recommend it to everybody that want to learn how all the different functions work. Of course, it is an introduction so don't expect in-depth explanations.
Profile Image for Gard.
468 reviews
April 29, 2020
The human body is a fascinating machine. DK does a good job of explaining it all through good illustrations and simple explanations.
Profile Image for Kaltrim.
5 reviews3 followers
October 21, 2019
What I like about DK publishings is that the books they produce are very rich in images. This book was no exception.

You have it very easy to remember what you have learned because of those images. Memory champions use image and picture strategy to have a better retention and faster and more efficient recalling of memories.

How the body works, explains briefly how we come to be, and how we function as human beings. From dna and cells, to organs and bodies.

The important thing is, that its information is cutting-edge, newest theories and advancements are put on this book.

This book feels like eating snack, you always grab a good piece of information here and there and it feels like ‘eating it’. Delicious.

I would recommend this book to anyone who is curious about our body, what our organs do, their importance and their diseases.
Profile Image for Ietrio.
6,949 reviews24 followers
December 3, 2016
A nice, basic start for children and adults when it comes to how the body functions.
4 reviews
April 30, 2024
Đây là một quyển sách về sinh học cơ bản và lúc mình đọc thì có cảm giác như học lại môn sinh lớp 9, 12 một lần nữa. Mình nghĩ điểm sáng giá nhất của sách là nội dung minh họa đẹp mắt, sống động. Cách tác giả chia chương cũng khá hợp lí và nếu đọc kĩ, ghi chú như thời đi học thì sẽ học được nhiều thông tin. Ngoài những khía cạnh sâu về sinh học như ADN, ARN, các cơ quan trong cơ thể,... thì sách còn đề cập đến 1 số khái niệm thường gặp như phương pháp nhịn ăn ngắt quãng, tiêm chủng - miễn dịch cộng đồng, tập thể dục, bệnh tiểu đường, vòng đời của con người,...
Về nhược điểm, mình đã kì vọng sách thu hẹp phạm vi và đi sâu vào chi tiết hơn 1 chút nhưng việc sách làm lại là "mở bài rồi bỏ ngỏ" nên mình chưa tìm thấy được những thông tin mình mong muốn ở đây. Sách đưa ra kiến thức dàn trải của nhiều vấn đề nên mình khuyên là nên đọc từ từ ngẫm trong thời gian dài hoặc lật mục lục, thấy hứng thú với vấn đề gì thì đọc chứ không rất dễ bị nản. Tóm lại, mình không nghĩ đây là 1 cuốn sách quá dễ đọc, hay quá bổ ích, chỉ "tạm được" thôi.
Đánh giá: 3/5
8 reviews
Read
July 9, 2019
Explain the star rating you gave it:
I will rate my book in a 4/5 because this book was pretty cool and l loved it but it was very receptive.

The most interesting or engaging parts of the book to you, and why:
The most interesting part of the book for me was the part about the newborns because l learned many new things like that a newborn is born with 100 more bones that an adult.

How does this book relate to your Hero’s Journey?
I think this book rates my heroes journey in a 5 because like l want to be a doctor it is really engaging for me.

Will you continue to read books like this? Why or why not?
Yes because the human body is something that really catches my attention.

Who you would recommend it to and why?
I will recommend to anyone who likes medicine or wants to know more about the body.

25 reviews
June 18, 2019
Review
I give this book 4 stars because the concepts were easy to understand because the book had pictures. This book was a good book in general because it had good grammar, spelling and it is for all ages. This book taught me little things such as what are the parts of the brain, how to know when you should stop exercising, what is the way to hydrate the body and why do we feel dizzy. This book relates to my hero's journey because I have a body and now I know what is which part and how it works. This book didn’t change me as a reader. I would recommend this book to people that are planning to become doctors when they grow-up because this book is about the basis of the body.
Profile Image for Kevin Neal.
22 reviews
March 13, 2025
Really fun and informative read. Upon fact checking the book however, I did find a couple statements that are not accurate (90% of the cells that make up our body is NOT bacterial), but what it gets right is very fascinating. Also, I really enjoyed the illustrations. Obviously, you won’t pass an anatomy and physiology course by just reading this book. But it does lay down a solid foundation if you want to learn basic facts about the human body. This book really turned me onto to the other books in this series.
7 reviews
Read
September 20, 2022
This book is about biological knowledges or basically about how our body work through the working process of different systems in our body made up from different specialised cells. It involves knowledges like hormones, reproduction, fitnesses, as well as sensitivity in our body. I think this book is a great book with wide ranges of knowledge mainly focusing on our body. It is very easy to understand and is also a great biology tutor for you!
Profile Image for Marie.
84 reviews
January 5, 2019
This is a coffee table book that covers human biology, mostly at a middle school level. Every page is filled with colorful graphics. The sections in this book focus on cells, skin and bones, muscles, senses, the cardiovascular system, the digestive system, the immune system, hormones, the life cycle, and psychology.
Profile Image for Becky Hillary.
328 reviews2 followers
October 2, 2024
This was a book about how the body works. I recommend it to anyone who likes to read about the body and learn some fun facts. It is not too detailed, and there were a few cool facts but I did not gain too much from it. I teach the topic so I know all of these basics and did not enjoy it too much but I am not the target audience.

Profile Image for lucy♡.
915 reviews3 followers
November 7, 2017
Considering this is not a piece of fiction, I can't really critique it.

This book was a beautiful book filled with facts, fun and lots of diagrams! A brilliant introduction to the body and all the weird and wonderful things it does.
Love Lucy x
Profile Image for KHẢI.
84 reviews
June 21, 2020
Sách dày, giấy tốt, in màu toàn bộ, được đóng cuốn chắc chắn. Cung cấp nhiều thông tin cực kỳ hữu ích và chính xác về cơ thể người với nhiều hình ảnh minh họa sinh động, trực quan sắc nét. Là cuốn sách cần có trong tủ sách mỗi gia đình.
Profile Image for Ro Delgadillo Martinez.
152 reviews2 followers
November 11, 2020
Sería ingrato de mi parte calificarlo con menos. Me apoyo mucho en él para entender en un nivel básico e introductorio contenido más complejo de Anatomía, Bioquímica y Nutrición. Naturalmente no me da toda la información necesaria, pero logran hacer el contenido atractivo y detallado.
Profile Image for Maha Gamal.
3 reviews
March 23, 2021
It's one of the most beautiful books I've ever seen
Imagine to have it in your shelf....
I enjoyed studying from this book it's colorful eye-catching and really rich of information
My eyes are pleased
Profile Image for Lucas Chen Chak Fung.
8 reviews
August 18, 2021
I think this book is wonderful as it talks about and explains to the reader more about what goes on in the human body.
I also find it easy that people know how their body works after reading this book, such as such a know how hunger, thirst and how the brain works too.

Profile Image for Nina.
137 reviews
December 25, 2024
Great book all in all with interesting facts, but the Finnish version has a lot and I mean A LOT of spelling mistakes, sometimes one or more on every page, which lowers the rating for me. Also not fond of the spreads where you have to turn the book to read.
Profile Image for Цветомира Филипова.
82 reviews4 followers
January 11, 2025
An amazing book that gives you interesting information about the body with going into too much details. It's also not as basic as what we studied at school. It's great! I thing every home should have this book.
Profile Image for Eliza.
104 reviews58 followers
January 21, 2018
DK never disappoints me! This is a must-have for every child and for the rest of us! Colorful, informative! I loved it!!
Profile Image for Sara.
10 reviews5 followers
September 4, 2018
A detailed refresher for those of us who've figured out that we learn visually. More accessible than most textbooks with just about as much information. Well done, DK.
Profile Image for Leah.
63 reviews
June 2, 2021
I learned a lot from this book, and I enjoyed it.
4 reviews
August 17, 2021
1. Really useful for biology
2. Beautifully designed
3. Presenting difficult topics in an easily understandable manner

Who should read this?
Everybody who has a body.
Displaying 1 - 30 of 46 reviews

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