About this item
"If you want to understand the strange workings of the human body, and the future of medicine, you must read this illuminating, engaging book." - Siddhartha Mukherjee, author of The Gene In 2014, James Hamblin launched a series of videos for The Atlantic called "If Our Bodies Could Talk." With it, the doctor-turned-journalist established himself as a seriously entertaining authority in the field of health. Now, in illuminating and genuinely funny prose, Hamblin explores the human stories behind health questions that never seem to go away - and which tend to be mischaracterized and oversimplified by marketing and news media. He covers topics such as sleep, aging, diet, and much more: * Can I "boost" my immune system? * Does caffeine make me live longer? * Do we still not know if cell phones cause cancer? * How much sleep do I actually need? * Is there any harm in taking a multivitamin? * Is life long enough? In considering these questions, Hamblin draws from his own medical training as well from hundreds of interviews with distinguished scientists and medical practitioners. He translates the (traditionally boring) textbook of human anatomy and physiology into accessible, engaging, socially contextualized, up-to-the-moment answers. They offer clarity, examine the limits of our certainty, and ultimately help readers worry less about things that don't really matter. If Our Bodies Could Talk is a comprehensive, illustrated guide that entertains and educates in equal doses.
About the Author
James Hamblin is a writer and senior editor at The Atlantic magazine. He hosts the video series If Our Bodies Could Talk, for which he was a finalist in the Webby awards for Best Web Personality. He is a past Yale University Poynter Fellow in journalism, and he has lectured at Harvard Medical School, Wharton Business School, Columbia Mailman School of Public Health, and SXSW, among others. His writing and videos have been featured by The New York Times, Politico magazine, Bon Appétit, Comedy Central, NPR, BBC, MSNBC, New York, and The Awl, among others. Time named him among the 140 people to follow on Twitter, Greatist named him among the most influential people in health media, and BuzzFeed called him "the most delightful MD ever." He's based in Brooklyn.
