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The Body
- A Guide for Occupants
- Narrated by: Bill Bryson
- Length: 14 hrs and 47 mins
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Shakespeare
- The World as a Stage
- By: Bill Bryson
- Narrated by: Bill Bryson
- Length: 5 hrs and 27 mins
- Unabridged
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Shakespeare's life, despite the scrutiny of generations of biographers and scholars, is still a thicket of myths and traditions, some preposterous, some conflicting, arranged around the few scant facts known about the Bard: from his birth in Stratford to the bequest of his second best bed to his wife when he died.
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Enjoyable, fun, & informative
- By Ballina Beach on 11-04-2016
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A Crack in Creation
- Gene Editing and the Unthinkable Power to Control Evolution
- By: Jennifer A. Doudna, Samuel H. Sternberg
- Narrated by: Erin Bennett
- Length: 9 hrs and 22 mins
- Unabridged
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Overall
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Performance
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Story
Not since the atomic bomb has a technology so alarmed its inventors that they warned the world about its use. Not, that is, until the spring of 2015, when biologist Jennifer Doudna called for a worldwide moratorium on the use of the new gene-editing tool CRISPR - a revolutionary new technology that she helped create - to make heritable changes in human embryos.
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Excellent, informative book.
- By Andrew on 16-06-2018
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A Short History of Nearly Everything
- By: Bill Bryson
- Narrated by: William Roberts
- Length: 18 hrs and 59 mins
- Unabridged
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Overall
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Performance
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Story
A Short History of Nearly Everything is Bill Bryson's quest to understand everything that has happened from the Big Bang to the rise of civilization. He takes subjects that normally bore the pants off most of us, like geology, chemistry, and particle physics, and aims to render them comprehensible to people who have never thought they could be interested in science. In the company of some extraordinary scientists, Bill Bryson reveals the world in a way most of us have never seen it before.
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Not what I expected but brilliant!
- By Michael on 27-11-2015
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Neither Here Nor There
- By: Bill Bryson
- Narrated by: Bill Bryson
- Length: 5 hrs and 38 mins
- Abridged
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Performance
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Bill Bryson's first travel book, The Lost Continent, was unanimously acclaimed as one of the funniest books in years. In Neither Here Nor There he brings his unique brand of humour to bear on Europe as he shoulders his backpack, keeps a tight hold on his wallet, and journeys from Hammerfest, the northernmost town on the continent, to Istanbul on the cusp of Asia.
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Nature Wants Us to Be Fat
- The Surprising Science Behind Why We Gain Weight and How We Can Prevent - and Reverse - It
- By: Richard J. Johnson MD
- Narrated by: Jonathan Todd Ross
- Length: 9 hrs and 24 mins
- Unabridged
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Nature puts a “survival switch” in our bodies to protect us from starvation. Stuck in the “on” position, it’s the hidden source of weight gain, heart disease, and many other common health struggles. But you can turn it off.
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This book changed my life, its just so spot on
- By Lee Nielsen on 29-09-2022
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The Diet Myth
- The Real Science Behind What We Eat
- By: Tim Spector
- Narrated by: Leighton Pugh
- Length: 12 hrs and 56 mins
- Unabridged
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Overall
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Performance
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Story
Why do most diets fail? Why does one person eat a certain meal and gain weight, while another eating the same meal loses pounds? Why, despite all the advice about what to eat, are we all still getting fatter? The answers are much more surprising - and fascinating - than we've been led to believe. The key to health and weight loss lies not in the latest fad diet, nor even in the simple mantra of 'eat less, exercise more', but in the microbes already inside us.
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Knowledgeable, informative and entertaining
- By Amazon Customer on 22-12-2015
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Shakespeare
- The World as a Stage
- By: Bill Bryson
- Narrated by: Bill Bryson
- Length: 5 hrs and 27 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
Shakespeare's life, despite the scrutiny of generations of biographers and scholars, is still a thicket of myths and traditions, some preposterous, some conflicting, arranged around the few scant facts known about the Bard: from his birth in Stratford to the bequest of his second best bed to his wife when he died.
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Enjoyable, fun, & informative
- By Ballina Beach on 11-04-2016
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A Crack in Creation
- Gene Editing and the Unthinkable Power to Control Evolution
- By: Jennifer A. Doudna, Samuel H. Sternberg
- Narrated by: Erin Bennett
- Length: 9 hrs and 22 mins
- Unabridged
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Overall
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Performance
-
Story
Not since the atomic bomb has a technology so alarmed its inventors that they warned the world about its use. Not, that is, until the spring of 2015, when biologist Jennifer Doudna called for a worldwide moratorium on the use of the new gene-editing tool CRISPR - a revolutionary new technology that she helped create - to make heritable changes in human embryos.
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Excellent, informative book.
- By Andrew on 16-06-2018
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A Short History of Nearly Everything
- By: Bill Bryson
- Narrated by: William Roberts
- Length: 18 hrs and 59 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
A Short History of Nearly Everything is Bill Bryson's quest to understand everything that has happened from the Big Bang to the rise of civilization. He takes subjects that normally bore the pants off most of us, like geology, chemistry, and particle physics, and aims to render them comprehensible to people who have never thought they could be interested in science. In the company of some extraordinary scientists, Bill Bryson reveals the world in a way most of us have never seen it before.
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Not what I expected but brilliant!
- By Michael on 27-11-2015
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Neither Here Nor There
- By: Bill Bryson
- Narrated by: Bill Bryson
- Length: 5 hrs and 38 mins
- Abridged
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Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
Bill Bryson's first travel book, The Lost Continent, was unanimously acclaimed as one of the funniest books in years. In Neither Here Nor There he brings his unique brand of humour to bear on Europe as he shoulders his backpack, keeps a tight hold on his wallet, and journeys from Hammerfest, the northernmost town on the continent, to Istanbul on the cusp of Asia.
-
Nature Wants Us to Be Fat
- The Surprising Science Behind Why We Gain Weight and How We Can Prevent - and Reverse - It
- By: Richard J. Johnson MD
- Narrated by: Jonathan Todd Ross
- Length: 9 hrs and 24 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
Nature puts a “survival switch” in our bodies to protect us from starvation. Stuck in the “on” position, it’s the hidden source of weight gain, heart disease, and many other common health struggles. But you can turn it off.
-
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This book changed my life, its just so spot on
- By Lee Nielsen on 29-09-2022
-
The Diet Myth
- The Real Science Behind What We Eat
- By: Tim Spector
- Narrated by: Leighton Pugh
- Length: 12 hrs and 56 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
Why do most diets fail? Why does one person eat a certain meal and gain weight, while another eating the same meal loses pounds? Why, despite all the advice about what to eat, are we all still getting fatter? The answers are much more surprising - and fascinating - than we've been led to believe. The key to health and weight loss lies not in the latest fad diet, nor even in the simple mantra of 'eat less, exercise more', but in the microbes already inside us.
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Knowledgeable, informative and entertaining
- By Amazon Customer on 22-12-2015
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A History of Western Philosophy
- By: Bertrand Russell
- Narrated by: Jonathan Keeble
- Length: 38 hrs and 3 mins
- Unabridged
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Bertrand Russell's A History of Western Philosophy serves as the perfect introduction to its subject; it remains unchallenged as the greatest account of the history of Western thought. Charting philosophy's course from the pre-Socratics up to the early twentieth century, Russell relates each philosopher and school to their respective historical and cultural contexts, providing erudite commentary throughout his invaluable survey.
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Make sure that this is the book that you're looking for.
- By Josh on 10-03-2016
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One Summer
- America 1927
- By: Bill Bryson
- Narrated by: Bill Bryson
- Length: 17 hrs and 3 mins
- Unabridged
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One Summer: America, 1927, is the new book by Britain’s favourite writer of narrative nonfiction, Bill Bryson. Narrated by the man himself, One Summer takes you to the summer when America came of age, took centre stage, and changed the world forever. In the summer of 1927, America had a booming stock market, a president who worked just four hours a day, a semi-crazed sculptor with a plan to carve four giant heads into a mountain called Rushmore, a devastating flood of the Mississippi, a sensational murder trial, and a youthful aviator named Charles Lindbergh who started the summer wholly unknown, and finished it as the most famous man on Earth.
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A Summer more or less
- By Cainsy on 17-05-2015
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Behave
- By: Robert M. Sapolsky
- Narrated by: Michael Goldstrom
- Length: 26 hrs and 27 mins
- Unabridged
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We are capable of savage acts of violence but also spectacular feats of kindness: is one side of our nature destined to win out over the other? Every act of human behaviour has multiple layers of causation, spiralling back seconds, minutes, hours, days, months, years, even centuries, right back to the dawn of time and the origins of our species. In the epic sweep of history, how does our biology affect the arc of war and peace, justice and persecution? How have our brains evolved alongside our cultures?
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Did Hitler have free will (and other stuff)?
- By zico on 13-12-2022
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Notes from a Small Island
- By: Bill Bryson
- Narrated by: Bill Bryson
- Length: 5 hrs and 39 mins
- Abridged
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After nearly two decades in Britain, Bill Bryson took the decision to move back to the States for a while but before leaving his much-loved home in North Yorkshire, Bryson insisted on taking one last trip around Britain. His aim was to take stock of the nation's public face and private parts (as it were), and to analyse what precisely it was he loved so much about a country that had produced Marmite, a military hero whose dying wish was to be kissed by a fellow named Hardy....
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Another excellent Bryson book
- By Anonymous User on 05-02-2022
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At Home: A Short History of Private Life
- By: Bill Bryson
- Narrated by: Bill Bryson
- Length: 16 hrs and 32 mins
- Unabridged
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Bill Bryson was struck one day by the thought that we devote more time to studying the battles and wars of history than to considering what history really consists of: centuries of people quietly going about their daily business. This inspired him to start a journey around his own house, an old rectory in Norfolk, considering how the ordinary things in life came to be.
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Best use of a credit
- By Rachel on 29-07-2015
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The Bill Bryson BBC Radio Collection
- Divided by a Common Language, Journeys in English and More
- By: Bill Bryson
- Narrated by: Bill Bryson
- Length: 7 hrs and 59 mins
- Original Recording
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Bill Bryson is the world's funniest travel writer, and a master of comic observation. His hugely popular books, spanning topics from linguistics to Shakespeare to the human body, have sold over 16 million copies and been translated into 30 languages, and his 2003 science book A Short History of Nearly Everything won the prestigious Aventis and Descartes prizes.
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How to Stop Time
- By: Matt Haig
- Narrated by: Mark Meadows
- Length: 10 hrs and 37 mins
- Unabridged
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Tom Hazard has a dangerous secret. He may look like an ordinary 41-year-old history teacher, but he’s been alive for centuries. From Elizabethan England to Jazz-Age Paris, from New York to the South Seas, Tom has seen it all. As long as he keeps changing his identity, he can stay one step ahead of his past – and stay alive. The only thing he must not do is fall in love. But what if the one thing he can't have just happens to be the one thing that might save him?
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New favorite book
- By Anonymous User on 27-03-2018
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The Templars
- By: Dan Jones
- Narrated by: Dan Jones
- Length: 15 hrs and 35 mins
- Unabridged
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The Knights Templar were the wealthiest, most powerful - and most secretive - of the military orders that flourished in the crusading era. Their story - encompassing as it does the greatest international conflict of the Middle Ages, a network of international finance, a swift rise in wealth and influence followed by a bloody and humiliating fall - has left a comet's tail of mystery that continues to fascinate and inspire historians, novelists and conspiracy theorists. Unabridged edition read by Dan Jones.
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‘The Templars’, by Dan Jones
- By lone on 24-04-2018
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Remember
- The Science of Memory and the Art of Forgetting
- By: Lisa Genova
- Narrated by: Lisa Genova
- Length: 6 hrs and 4 mins
- Unabridged
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Neuroscientist and acclaimed novelist Lisa Genova delves into how memories are made and how we retrieve them. You’ll come to appreciate the clear distinction between normal forgetting (where you parked your car) and forgetting due to Alzheimer’s (that you own a car). And you’ll see how memory is profoundly impacted by meaning, emotion, sleep, stress, and context.
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Best book of the year!
- By Dona on 25-06-2021
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The Commonwealth of Thieves
- By: Thomas Keneally
- Narrated by: Simon Vance
- Length: 12 hrs and 28 mins
- Unabridged
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A lively history of the 'First Fleet' which took convicts from Britain to Australia in 1787; Sydney's early years as 'an open-air prison'; and the colonisation of New South Wales.
The story of modern Australia begins in 18th-century Britain, where people were hanged for petty offences but crime was rife and the gaols were bursting. From this situation was born the Sydney experiment, with criminals perceived to be damaging British society transported to Sydney, an 'open air prison with walls 14,000 miles thick'.
Eleven ships were dispatched in 1781 and arrived in Australia after eight hellish months at sea. Tom Keneally describes the first four years of the 'thief colony' and how, despite the escapes, the floggings, the murders and the rebellions, it survived against the odds to create a culture which would never have been tolerated in its homeland but which, in Australia, became part of the identity of a new and audacious nation.
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A most vivid account of Australian settlement
- By The Nautrual on 21-09-2020
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The Road to Little Dribbling
- More Notes From a Small Island
- By: Bill Bryson
- Narrated by: Nathan Osgood
- Length: 13 hrs and 56 mins
- Unabridged
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Twenty years ago Bill Bryson went on a trip around Britain to celebrate the green and kindly island that had become his adopted country. The hilarious book that resulted, Notes from a Small Island, was taken to the nation’s heart and became the best-selling travel book ever and was voted in a BBC poll the book that best represents Britain. Now, to mark the 20th anniversary of that modern classic, Bryson makes a brand-new journey around Britain to see what has changed.
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Typical Bryson
- By Jan on 22-10-2015
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Where the Deer and the Antelope Play
- The Pastoral Observations of One Ignorant American Who Loves to Walk Outside
- By: Nick Offerman
- Narrated by: Nick Offerman
- Length: 11 hrs and 43 mins
- Unabridged
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A humorous and rousing set of literal and figurative sojourns as well as a mission statement about comprehending, protecting, and truly experiencing the outdoors, fueled by three journeys undertaken by actor, humorist, and New York Times best-selling author Nick Offerman
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Smug liberal sermon
- By Anonymous User on 18-09-2023
Editorial 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)
Publisher's 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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- Chelsea
- 08-10-2019
Not Bryson’s best
This book’s content is fairly average for a Bryson book. A lot of what he talks about is just high school biology. But the worst part is the narration. It’s awful! Bryson should not narrate his own books. He is monotone and slurs his words. Please please get William Roberts to narrate Bryson books - he ‘gets’ Bryson’s writing.
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22 people found this helpful
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- Anonymous User
- 06-10-2019
An informative read ruined by awful narration
Bill Bryson is an amazingly talented writer and this book proves it. That’s where the compliments end. Who on earth convinced him he could narrate this book? He’s got such a boring monotone soft voice that it’s impossible to listen to in a car. Please get someone else to narrate this book and let us download it again as this is just painful.
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20 people found this helpful
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- scott
- 23-10-2019
Another masterpiece.
I have not enjoyed a book as much as this since I first listened to ’a short history of nearly everything’ another Bryson classic.
The level of detail and Brysons easy to absorb style of written lead to me arriving home several times, only to reverse out of driveway and drive aimlessly so I could continue listening.
A must listen for anyone with a curious mind.
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8 people found this helpful
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- Sam
- 07-09-2020
narrator too soft spoken at points
the book is a solid read and if you love the author's other works you'll love this too.
unfortunately the soft-spoken narrator made it impossible to listen to for me while commuting as I literally couldn't get my devices loud enough which is not usually a problem with other books.
also there was a 40 minute preview of another book at the end but I did not appreciate going straight from one read into a 40 minute ad.
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7 people found this helpful
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- Rodney Wetherell
- 26-09-2020
Fine reading of a magnificent book
First I would like to congratulate Bill Bryson on his engaging way of reading his book. He has a droll, understated style which matches the material and keeps me well entertained. I am gobsmacked by the amount of stuff he has discovered, or already knew - and he has said he is no scientist. I only wish I could remember one tenth of it, but I intend to go back and listen to certain sections again. I loved the stories of doctors and scientists who have made important discoveries - or have pinched them from others, in some cases.
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4 people found this helpful
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- M. R. Kaspar
- 29-08-2020
Engaging and informative with quirky details
The amount of historical and factual detail Bill Bryson manages to weave together seemingly effortlessly in this book is astounding. What sets his style apart and makes it noteworthy is that in an endearing and chatming manner he intersperses 'dry' facts with the human foibles and twists of fate that brought them to our knowledge. By offering the information this way I become aware that I, the reader/listener, too, am on this historical continuum and we are all in this together. I also enjoyed the clear unpretentious reading by the author himself, which was as engaging as the material.
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4 people found this helpful
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- Ian
- 13-11-2019
Great book worth buying
I am an unabashed Bryson fan and this book delivered. Informative, enjoyable and well delivered. Excellent entertainment.
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3 people found this helpful
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- Anonymous User
- 22-07-2020
Maybe this book should be entitled: The Doctors
I was excited to discover Bill Bryson's new book. Unfortunately, mid-way through listening to this book, I found myself counting how many chapters were left before the ending. I cannot say it was uninteresting, I rather enjoyed it, but I learned more about doctors, medicine protocols and Nobel price recipients than the body itself. I would still recommend it.
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2 people found this helpful
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- Anonymous User
- 04-01-2020
Interesting material
I learned a few things from this book but most for me was common knowledge.
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1 person found this helpful
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- G. Harvey
- 01-12-2019
As usual, great fun.
And as usual, so much I didn't know.
Bryson shows again, and so simply, all that we take for granted. On this occasion it's not what is around us but within us. This book is another of his that is on my re-read list.
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- Ævar Arnfjörð Bjarmason
- 07-10-2019
Average, really needs a professional narrator,
It's great when certain authors narrate their own works, as you can really feel their enthusiasm for the subject, but boy is this not one of those cases. Bryson manages to sound monotone, unexcited and borderline out of breath throughout.
I've read many of Bryson's earlier books, this is the third one of his that I've read with a scientific theme read after "A Short History..." and "At Home". He's still not quite capturing what made "A Short History..." great. This book's a mixture of scientific fact, anecdotes and personal observations.
Sometimes there's a great mix of those, but more often than not the science suffers because too much time is taken on some personal observation or anecdote that that isn't all that interesting, or some other mixture of the three.
Finally, for a book that's partly trying to explain a technical subject it contains an infuriating mismatch of differing systems of units of measure. Sometimes Bryson will refer to length in feet, or meters, or weight in kilos, pounds or stones, he might provide conversions, or he might not. Unless you're comfortable in metric, imperial and the UK's various quaint units of measure you'll find yourself pausing to do the conversions yourself.
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15 people found this helpful
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- Alberto Simal
- 09-11-2019
Sounds tired
Maybe it's me, maybe it's the fact that so much of the information was not new to me, but the book failed to engage me and surprise me like his "A short Story...". He sounded tired, less enthusiastic. It's a good book, nonetheless.
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3 people found this helpful
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- B.J.
- 13-07-2020
Bad Narration
I think Mr. Bryson should have a professional narrator to re-read this book. His narration is flat, monotone, the voice sounds untrained, it really killed the audiobook for me, like someone boring is discussing even more boring stuff. That Mid-Atlantic accent of Mr. Bryson (neither American nor British) is irritating…Regardless of how many times I tried to finish the book, I couldn't…all due to the bad narration.
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1 person found this helpful
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- Thandi Lamprecht
- 18-06-2020
It grows on you.
I have mixed feelings about this book - so much so that I actually returned it but now want to purchase it again. I found the first 1/4 very boring and kept falling asleep when I tried to listen to it at night. I then returned the book. Because I felt it wasn’t worth the credit. When I was having trouble sleeping a couple of weeks after I’d returned it, I thought I’d listen to it again (since it had worked so well as a sleep aid before..) but about 1/2 way in I was hooked. It’s a fascinating book and it gets better and better as it goes on. The last 1/4 is the best. My recommendation therefore is to buy this book and just be patient, it will grown on you. Enjoy!
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- James Fowler
- 24-04-2020
Very Thoroughly Researched and Entertaining
This book is entertaining and thoroughly researched. The explanations of the facts, however, were very biased towards Evolution Theory.
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1 person found this helpful
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- Anonymous User
- 28-05-2022
Not just a guide to ocupants
The breath of information packed in the book is, well, breathtaking. Bryson not only provides a full explanation of the body (parts) but also details our past and current (scientific) understanding of it. Although I was a bit disappointing to realize that we still have a long way to know how our own body functions (and dysfunctions), at least now I fell a bit less ignorant.
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- Chloe S
- 10-08-2021
Lovely book
This book is fantastic! Entertaining, interesting and knowledgeable! Kept me gripped the whole way through!
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- Anonymous User
- 01-07-2021
I certainly hope you do more Educational Books
I certainly hope you do more Educational Books Bill
My first Educational Audiobook was your Short History of Nearly Everything and I received it as a gift from my UK aunt and uncle and I would listen to it in my car over and over again. and I couldn't wait to listen to any other educational Audio Books you may have. When I found out that you wrote this new one called the Body I had to get it. I normally avoid subscription-based purchases as they lower my monthly income by a set amount but since audible was the only place I could verify had it in their collection I am more than happy to have paid their fee and I have greatly enjoyed this audiobook. I know that you said in one of your interviews that you were planning on slowing do and enjoying your retirement and I wish you all the best in this but if you ever decide to write another book and record it as an audiobook I will gladly buy it.
Kind regards
MR MSR Gannon
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- Carolien S
- 28-06-2021
Fascinating review of how your body functions
I enjoyed this very much. I learned a lot of basic biology, but also met many interesting characters who influenced medical science. It definitely improved my overall knowledge of how my body functions. Highly recommend.
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- Anonymous User
- 10-04-2021
Awesome
Bill Bryson has a magic way to tell you about things that you might have thought were boring but they are absolutely not! Thank you for this book.
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- Roger Boyle
- 16-10-2019
Excellent starter in Anatomy, Physiology and Bioch
I've been a doctor for over 30 years and enjoyed the book immensely.
Loved the stories about the famous, ( and less famous) characters in medicine and the amazing complexity of our bodies and disease
An interesting overview of over investigation( particularly in USA) and Health Outcomes ( US & UK excellent examples)
I found the pronunciation of some words slightly jarring to UK ears, but perhaps I've said it wrong for nearly 4 decades!!!
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67 people found this helpful
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- M. Woods
- 09-10-2019
Sending me to sleep
I love Bill Bryson's books - but he should have got a professional actor/reader to narrate this. Bill's soft monotone keeps sending me to sleep. Given it three goes of the first two chapters, but just can't listen anymore. I'm going to have to return this audio and maybe get a print copy.
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65 people found this helpful
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- Rupert Maddison-Roberts
- 12-10-2019
Hard listening
Shame he didn’t pay William Roberts to read it as with his other books. Bought it on the strength of his previous work but he’s narrated it himself and he’s no professional narrator- disappointing
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55 people found this helpful
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- Mark D
- 28-10-2019
Great book, let down somewhat by the narration
This was my first time listening to a Bill Bryson book and whilst the story had all the ingrediants I enjoy about his work, the narration made it difficult to fully appreciate. The author has a very soft voice without huge range and as such, I often found myself having to rewind and turn the volume up high to hear what had just been said. It didn't stop me enjoying the material, but it definitely sent me back to the kindle version for large sections. I'll continue to invest in Bill's books - but I don't think i would choose another audio book where the author has narrated the work himself.
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52 people found this helpful
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- Bammosan
- 13-10-2019
Bill Bryson at his best.
This is Bill at his best, full of wonder and the ability to put across scientific information in a sometimes humorous but concerned and hopeful way,
His audiobooks are always enhanced when he reads them himself, this is no exception. You can listen to an abridged version on BBC Sounds radio 4, but I encourage you to get the full version it will become a go to textbook for healthcare personnel and members of the public and educational establishments.
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- Avril
- 09-10-2019
An early review.Do not start this book at bedtime!
I always fall upon Bill Bryson books as soon as they are published. This one is utterly enthralling from the first word. Read by Bill Bryson himself (what a lovely voice) the narrative kept me awake and thoroughly engaged until I was forced by tiredness to pause it at 4am. If I wasn’t so busy I’d be listening again now., my head is bursting with very interesting facts about the mysterious and wondrous human body,and I’m sure I will reread many times in future.
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- Labrador with class
- 04-10-2019
Not one of Bryson's best...
I was counting down the days to the release of this book, as I am a huge fan of Bill's books; then devoured it in one day. Alas, all I was left with was a slight feeling of indigestion, not a lasting feeling of fullness. it feels like a slightly rushed summary of high school level biology spiced up with a few truly interesting morsels. it lacks Bryson's usual personal experiences, anecdotes and insights. I will, of course, buy his next book, and maybe try nibbling on it first, instead of swallowing it whole...
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- texaspetey
- 10-10-2019
Sends me into a sleep slumber whilst educating
Don’t know what it is but there is something very soothing about Bill Bryson’s voice that is just perfect to listen to before sleep. I set my timer for 30 mins and more often then not I’m asleep by 20 minutes. I repeat the books to make sure I listen to the whole book and cover the bits I drifted off to!
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- Stephen M.
- 24-12-2019
Disappointing
I love Bill Bryson books.I've read or listened to all of them. His normally witty storyline interspersed with funny anecdotes and facts around the timeline are missing here. This feels like a review of a medical textbook, lacking in an sense of enthusiasm by the author. He is not a narrator and doesn't have a voice for audible. I actually found him hard to listen to in the first few chapters and by the time I'd got used to his tone and pace the book was finished. I'd skip this one
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- HEB
- 03-11-2019
Just couldn't listen
I was really looking forward to this book as I am a great admirer of the author. However, after less than an hour I had to return it as I just couldn't listen to his narration any more. Very disappointing and I wish they had used an actor.
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13 people found this helpful