THE BRAINIAC'S BOOK OF THE BODY AND BRAIN

A riveting hodgepodge of body/brain facts and features, from crania to coccyxes.

As a skeletal guide topped with a red derby conducts visitors past photos and cartoons of a racially diverse cast and schematic images of various body parts, Cooper tosses off quick observations on various topics: how the brain learns, how food is digested, senses other than the five best known ones, histories of dissection and of gross obsolete medical practices, and bits of our body that have become “leftover” by evolution. Cooper includes reasonably sensitive if basic guidelines for recognizing and accepting select varieties of disabilities, neurodiversity, and gender expression—the last supplemented by a glossary of “gender words” at the end. Throughout the loosely arranged spreads, an interactive component is added by simple tests (look at 12 objects for 15 seconds and write down everything you remember, invite your peers to identify different ice cream flavors while pinching their noses), demonstrations of optical and muscle reflex quirks, and projects such as a “Poopcorn Experiment” for researchers who want to time their food’s digestive journey. Young readers seeking systematic tours of human anatomy or the history of medicine will have to look elsewhere, but they’re likely to find plenty of surprising facts and insights here.

Fascinating fare for amateur anatomists.