內容簡介
內容簡介 ◎《經濟學人》（The Economist）雜誌2015年年度書籍◎英國《獨立報》（The Independent）2015年最佳夏季讀物◎英國《衛報》（The Guardian）2015年最佳科學書籍◎亞馬遜網路書店讀者4.5顆星推薦「Gavin Francis扣人心弦又啟迪人心的著作《Adventures in Human Being》，藉由把解剖學放在人類經驗的更大格局中，為其注入活水，將人體與藝術、文學、音樂、天文學與歷史連結在一起。」－－《紐約書評》（New York Review of Books）你了解癲癇如何影響大腦嗎？心臟與身心健全之間的關係？為什麼食物是人類的關鍵？作者汲取外科醫生、急診室醫生與家庭醫生的經驗，以一篇篇臨床故事，融合醫療史、哲學與文學，描述人體的病痛與健康、生存與死亡。當他在診斷臉部癱瘓的年輕女性時，他想起藝術家長期以來的困難：捕捉人類表情。一位經歷伊拉克戰爭的老兵，其肩膀上的傷，首度於荷馬在三千年前撰寫的《伊利亞德》中被記載。當一位園丁被骯髒的玫瑰刺刺傷手指，細菌引起的血液中毒，讓人想起童話故事中沉睡的美人們。 本書流暢、動人且見解深刻，帶領讀者踏入人體秘境，提供精采的內部運作指南，在本書的核心，卻是對於身為人類的思索。 We have a lifetime's association with our bodies, but for many of us they remain uncharted territory. In Adventures in Human Being, Gavin Francis leads the reader on a journey through health and illness, offering insights on everything from the ribbed surface of the brain to the secret workings of the heart and the womb; from the pulse of life at the wrist to the unique engineering of the foot.Drawing on his own experiences as a doctor and GP, he blends first-hand case studies with reflections on the way the body has been imagined and portrayed over the millennia. If the body is a foreign country, then to practise medicine is to explore new territory: Francis leads the reader on an adventure through what it means to be human.Both a user's guide to the body and a celebration of its elegance, this book will transform the way you think about being alive, whether in sickness or in health.Published in association with the Wellcome Collection.
