The body : a guide for occupants / Bill Bryson.

Includes bibliographical references and index.

How to build a human -- The outside: skin and hair -- Microbial you -- The brain -- The head -- Down the hatch: the mouth and throat -- The heart and blood -- The chemistry department -- In the dissecting room: the skeleton -- On the move: bipedalism and exercise -- Equilibrium -- The immune system -- Deep breath: the lungs and breathing -- Food, glorious food -- The guts -- Sleep -- In the nether regions -- In the beginning: conception and birth -- Nerves and pain -- When things go wrong: diseases -- When things go very wrong: cancer -- Medicine good and bad -- The end.

Bill Bryson takes us on a head-to-toe tour of the marvel that is the human body. He guides us through the human body--how it functions, its remarkable ability to heal itself, and (unfortunately) the ways it can fail. Full of facts (your body made a million red blood cells since you started reading this) and anecdotes, The Body will lead you to a deeper understanding of the miracle that is life in general and you, in particular.