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The Body
- A Guide for Occupants
- Narrated by: Bill Bryson
- Length: 14 hrs and 47 mins
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The Body
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Listen to clips from the audiobook
- The Body by Bill Bryson
- Featuring original bonus material, exclusive to Audible
- The Body by Bill Bryson
- Featuring original bonus material, exclusive to Audible
- The Body by Bill Bryson
- Featuring original bonus material, exclusive to Audible
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Behind the scenes
Watch our exclusive interview with the best-selling author as he reveals the inspiration behind The Body.Editor reviews
“Between the mysterious, the unexpected, the unknown and the undiscovered The Body: A Guide for Occupants takes us through all the weird and wonderful parts of the human body with humour, historical anecdotes and some truly jaw-dropping facts. Somehow, with all that jam packed in, listening to it still feels like an entertaining coffee with an old friend. I have loved many of Bill Bryson’s books but I think this one may have just jostled its way to the top of my list of favourites. Definitely take a listen if you’ve ever wondered why or how your body does what it does, or, if not, take a listen for the multitude of amazing facts you can pull out at your next awkward dinner party.” (Alex, Audible Editor)
“In this illuminating history of the human form, Bill Bryson presents scientific research in an accessible way, introducing a host of individuals including the world’s first kidney transplant recipient and the Nobel Prize-winning Peter Medawar. Covering everything from sleep to immunity, I came away from listening to the audiobook with a newfound appreciation and respect for my body. A perfect listen for new and existing Bill Bryson fans alike.” (Jess, Audible Editor)
The life and times of Bill Bryson
Born in Des Moines, Iowa, in 1951, Bill Bryson now resides in the UK. His best-selling, wry-humoured books cover travel, the English language, history and popular science.
In 1972, longing to experience the wider world, Bryson left his home state and toured Europe, delighting in its strangeness. Returning the following year, he took a job at a psychiatric hospital before embarking on a career in journalism. His first published book, The Lost Continent (1989), recounts a tour of America, though he’s claimed this wasn’t a travel book. “It was more sociological” he says. “I was looking at this country that I’d grown up in and seeing how it had changed – and how I had changed.”
Summary
'We spend our whole lives in one body and yet most of us have practically no idea how it works and what goes on inside it. The idea of the book is simply to try to understand the extraordinary contraption that is us.’
In the best-selling, prize-winning A Short History of Nearly Everything Bill Bryson achieved the seemingly impossible by making the science of our world both understandable and entertaining to millions of people around the globe.
Now he turns his attention inwards to explore the human body, how it functions and its remarkable ability to heal itself. Full of extraordinary facts and astonishing stories, The Body: A Guide for Occupants is a brilliant, often very funny attempt to understand the miracle of our physical and neurological makeup.
What listeners say about The Body
Average customer ratingsReviews - Please select the tabs below to change the source of reviews.
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Overall5 out of 5 stars
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Performance5 out of 5 stars
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Story5 out of 5 stars
- Muse rule!
- 19-03-20
Bill Bryson does it again
Entertaining, informative, eye opening, worrying, reassuring-and fun ! Finished far too quickly- his skill as a writer never disappoints- superb!
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Overall4 out of 5 stars
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Performance2 out of 5 stars
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Story5 out of 5 stars
- Gruffhello
- 21-12-19
Great Book!
Really interesting book. However, the audio book would be superb, if read by someone, other than Bill Bryson) with clearer pronunciation.
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- friend
- 11-11-20
Perfect listening
The Body was so good that I ended up buying the book to reread facts
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Overall5 out of 5 stars
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- Peter Smith
- 20-10-19
Typically Brilliant
As always with his books, this is full of surprises while being concise and comprehensive. The surprises are not just in factoids but in his descriptions. His description of the tongue and what it does, for example, is masterful.
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- Bruce L.
- 24-10-19
Amazing
I thoroughly enjoyed this book. BB's style of writing is engaging and educational. Thank you
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- Colin Chisholm
- 12-11-19
Beautifully researched, wonderfully engaging.
Bryson is a gifted communicator who is clearly enamoured with the subject and as a result this book is never less than engrossing.
Bravo
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Overall5 out of 5 stars
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- Rob H
- 17-11-19
A fantastic overview of the body
The facts in this book are very interesting and is enough to change the perception of the world I live in. Lots of stories from Science and quite inspiring.
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Overall4 out of 5 stars
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- Pete
- 11-03-21
great information and humour not so good delivery.
loved it but took a little effort sometimes to stay connected to the dialogue .
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- Carl Wyatt
- 05-05-21
A good read
I nearly stopped listing when the author declared racial difference to be little more than skin pigmentation, this is very WOKE and 2021 but factually incorrect. that said the rest of the book was very interesting and I would certainly recommend.
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- ed
- 18-06-21
Another great Bryson.
Informative for the lay person and detailed enough to satisfy you. His sense of humour shines through and cheers even the darkest of corners of our fleshy selves. Don't be that person, read the manual.
4 stars overall because Bryson books are all warm, comforting walks through gentle hillsides to me now. It felt like you'd been shrunk and swallowed by some enormous human. James isn't in the giant peach any more.
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