Muscle: The Gripping Story of Strength and Movement

by Roy A. Meals

An entertaining illustrated deep dive into muscle, from the discovery of human anatomy to the latest science of strength training.

Muscle tissue powers every heartbeat, blink, jog, jump, and goosebump. It is the force behind the most critical bodily functions, including digestion and childbirth, as well as extreme feats of athleticism. We can mold our muscles with exercise and observe the results.

In this lively, lucid book, orthopedic surgeon Roy A. Meals takes us on a wide-ranging journey through anatomy, biology, history, and health to unlock the mysteries of our muscles. He breaks down the three different types of muscle—smooth, skeletal, and cardiac—and explores major advancements in medicine and fitness, including cutting-edge gene-editing research and the science behind popular muscle conditioning strategies. Along the way, he offers insight into the changing aesthetic and cultural conception of muscle, from Michelangelo’s David to present-day bodybuilders, and shares fascinating examples of strange muscular maladies and their treatment. Brimming with fun facts and infectious enthusiasm, Muscle sheds light on the astonishing, essential tissue that moves us through life.

Genres: Science, Nonfiction, Medicine, Health, Biology, Medical, Audiobook

271 pages, Kindle Edition

First published July 25, 2023

About the author

Roy Meals is an orthopedic surgeon and an avid outdoor enthusiast. He grew up in suburban Kansas City, attended Rice University (BA). and Vanderbilt University (MD). He performed his orthopedic surgery residency at Johns Hopkins Hospital and hand surgery fellowship at Massachusetts General Hospital.

Along the way, he served as a general medical officer (Major) in the USAF before joining the faculty at UCLA, where he continues to practice, teach, investigate, and write about the musculoskeletal system.

He has served as editor in chief for the Journal of Hand Surgery and as President of the American Society for Surgery of the Hand.

Away from work, he has hiked, walked, and/or bicycled on all 7 continents and ardently gardens at home in Los Angeles.

Reviews

[TL *Humaning the Best She Can*]

What I did read was interesting but couldn't gel with the writing style. It came off too textbooky and with my concentration issues lately (and inattentiveadhd), was double hard for me to read it mostly.

Don't feel like my time was wasted, but probably won't remember this after a bit either .

[Morgan]

I enjoyed this easy-to-digest breakdown!

“The long and short of it is that muscle is a moving reflection of life in all its beautiful complexity. Make the most of yours”.

[Jake Blaha · Rating 4 out of 5]

Although not intriguing, this is an interesting read that manages complex science for the layman. Obviously there’s much more happening behind the scenes than this enjoyable explanation proffers, but it’s still educational and I’d recommend it to autodidacts and freshman anatomists.

[Amy · Rating 2 out of 5]

Well I finished it. Found it exceedingly boring and not all that useful or insightful.

[Erich H. · Rating 2 out of 5]

I'm probably not the target audience (since I teach A&P and know a good amount about muscles) but I felt this was an ok-but-not-good/great book. Some of the analogies were odd, the forced humor off-putting, and most of the explanations did not go into the detail I'd hoped when I picked it up. The last bit about animal "champions" felt shoved in to fill out 200 pages, and any time I see someone in a pop-sci book describe a venomous snake as "extremely poisonous" I can't do anything but roll my eyes. Overall, I didn't get out of this what I'd hoped or expected, but I did learn a couple things.

[Lili Kim · Rating 4 out of 5]

Interesting thoughts and historical references on building muscles.
Notable lines and takeaways:
“Humans have easy ways to mess up every one of these functions and systems and thereby dice with their lives. Bad lifestyle choices promote disuse osteoporosis, muscle wasting, venereal disease, skin cancer, lung cancer, and alcoholic hepatitis, to name a few.”

“Is there hope? Absolutely, but we are going to have to resume some habits of our hunter-gatherer ancestors. Worse, we may have to pay money for exercise opportunities that they got for free just in the process of surviving. Payment may range from the price of walking shoes and some exercise bands to gym membership or a personal trainer. Is it ever too late? No. Multiple studies looking at seniors at home, in nursing homes, and even in hospitals found that all responded favorably to resistance training.”

-warm up, exercise, stretch, and regularly work on balance, agility, and coordination (stand on one leg while brushing your teeth, and close your eyes momentarily!). also, do creatine supplements?!

[Makayla · Rating 3 out of 5]

The author’s writing style is not really for me, so this was more of a skim than a read for me.
The individual chapters of this book can mostly be read independently of each other, which is nice. There are plenty of fun (and not so fun) facts about muscles, the history of anatomical studies, comparative anatomy, and pathology.
The metaphors/analogies the author came up with to explain how muscles work honestly obscure the topic more than a typical textbook.

Overall, I’d maybe read some chapters again/more thoroughly if I had the book on a plane, but it wasn’t to most engaging A&P pop-sci book I’ve ever read.

[Franchesca · Rating 4 out of 5]

An entertaining and educational read. Learn about how muscles were first discovered and studied, how they work to power our bodies along with other animals and even plants, the amazing strides that have been made and are still being made in science and technology, and much more. This book is written in a way that is easy to follow and understand, and is even humorous at times, with lots of useful and interesting information about muscle, the world's best motor.

This review is of an ARC I won in a Goodreads giveaway.

[Steve · Rating 5 out of 5]

I loved this book. It has everything I want in science writing: plain explanations, conversational tone, a little bit of the author’s journey, and a fair amount of humor including some laugh-out-loud moments. Dr. Meals uses a lot of great analogies for explanations and the excellent illustrations add additional clarifications. Overall this book is well worth reading. Thank you to Edelweiss and W. W. Norton & Company for the digital review copy.

[Freido · Rating 2 out of 5]

The book didn't really work for me. It explains how muscles work, but I did expect more detail, all the analogies made things more confusing in my view. Otherwise, I think it covers the most important bases, and it ends stronger than it starts in my view(going through how muscles can fail, i.e. disease)

[Emily · Rating 4 out of 5]

As far as non-fiction books go, this is a very good one. Lots of interesting fun facts, very readable, and not too technical. My favorite part was the way the author referenced studies and the discussion about creatine. I would recommend this book to anyone looking for more on the topic, but I think it is not for everyone.

[hannah · Rating 4 out of 5]

If you don't enjoy science, this isn't for you. If you do enjoy it, then this is a fantastic read. I was even laughing out loud at some of Roy's one liners. I did find some of the analogies somewhat tough to follow (specifically the row boat analogy), but I appreciated the attempt and the pictures. I loved the tone and humor throughout the book.

[Allison · Rating 3 out of 5]

I got a copy of this book in a giveaway. I thought that this book was very well researched, and took the extra step in tackling the potential applications of the knowledge the author provides. I would recommend this book to any person equally curious about anatomy, physiology, and wellness.

[Katie · Rating 3 out of 5]

A little pedestrian, but I learned some interesting new things. Very easy to read. The organization is a little odd and the cultural chapters feel a bit out of place. It was a really excellent sleepy time book.

[Shelly Pollack · Rating 5 out of 5]

The author's wry sense of humor and obvious passion for the material both educates and entertains the deeply curious amongst us. I am heartened to know that my muscles have more potential than I gave them credit for, assuming I get up off this Lazy Boy recliner and give them an opportunity.

[Neal Rowland · Rating 2 out of 5]

Did not seem like it knew what it wanted to be or who its audience was. Sometimes it was highly technical/medical; other times very simple. Some sections were interesting. While other chapters I had to skip through due to it being fairly dull.

[Amanda Rosselot · Rating 3 out of 5]

A great explanation of our body and how it works put into layman’s terms for the everyday reader. Some mixed in humor kept it entertaining, and the narrator did a great job on his muscle/anatomical pronunciations!

[Holly Kramer · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is a good read with real life examples of muscle movements. An average comprehension of the muscle tissue types are described. Then, the functions of muscles are defined easily. My goal was to learn about the digestive system, so this book helps give a general description.

[Delainey · Rating 2 out of 5]

I really struggled with this book. Some of the metaphors only served to confuse me and I felt like a pingpong ball bouncing back and forth between the technical jargon confusing me and feeling like I understood what Meals was trying to educate on.

[Natalierose · Rating 3 out of 5]

A very informative, albeit a lot dry, read. If you're looking for a broad overview of muscle's history, anatomy, and generally remarkable abilities, this is a great place to start. I also appreciate the online video recommendations for more in depth understanding and the detailed bibliography.

[Carla · Rating 5 out of 5]

A fascinating read. Tons of interesting info on muscle from the molecular level, to musculature in art, fitness trends & rare muscle disorders. The author shares all this with enthusiasm and frequent humor.

[Katie Killebrew · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is a fast and fun crash course in biology, with muscle as the starring role. Enjoyable!

[Molly · Rating 5 out of 5]

Although you don't HAVE to totally understand how myosin and actin protein filaments work, why not letting the glycogen in the muscle get depleted is critical to functioning muscle movement, or the difference between skeletal, smooth and cardiac muscles, knowing how our muscles function will help you develop habits that build and maintain muscle strength and flexibility as well as help you avoid common muscle maladies like fatigue, cramps and muscle soreness. Along the way, your curiosity, empathy and wonder are sure to expand as you learn about the history of muscles, how world cultures celebrate the beauty and strength of muscles, how diseases can affect the muscles nerve supply and how our muscles compare to those in animals - like how eye muscles give dogs (and not wolves) expression or that tongue muscles in salamanders have the fastest acceleration of any vertebrate! Of course you will also gain insights into conditioning and the benefits of cooling down and stretching. Dr. Meals enthusiasm is contagious! Be prepared to laugh, be amazed and want to know more.

[Catherine Carr · Rating 4 out of 5]

A fascinating, easy-to-understand book explaining the source of our movement, including the heart and our stomach, intestines, and all that keeps us alive and human. Highly recommended!

[Helen · Rating 3 out of 5]

Fascinating scientific look at our muscles. Scientific enough to feel like I was learning new material but not written in a way that was incomprehensible to a liberal arts major. It was interesting to me how our view of muscles changed from early time periods to now and how there is so much still to learn. Above all, I found it comforting how our bodies were so perfectly crafted in ways we don't even think about.

[Dhaval · Rating 4 out of 5]

4.5 Stars

[Monisha · Rating 5 out of 5]

Filled with clever fun facts, delivered with dry humor

[Erin · Rating 4 out of 5]

Dr. Meals does a good job making medical/biological information accessible and sometimes even entertaining.

[Maureen · Rating 4 out of 5]

Engaging, plain language explanation of muscle art history, scientific research, mechanics, disorders/ailments, and future.

[Travis · Rating 3 out of 5]

Moderately more interesting than the corresponding chapters in an anatomy textbook