A directory of wonders. Extraordinary stories about the heart, lungs, genitals ... plus some anger and life advice – all delivered in the inimitable Bryson style

Remarkable ... Every page is dense with scientific facts written as vividly as a thriller, as well as answers to conundrums such as why we don’t fall out of bed when we are asleep ... It is woven through with the kind of human stories that Bryson has made his trademark.

Readable and useful ... witty, jargon-free prose that glides you through 400 pages. It’s fun to read because it’s not just comprehensive, but quirky.

SCIENCE BOOK OF THE YEAR 2019: 'so packed with arresting facts (you eat 60 tons of food in a lifetime) and unlikely anecdotes (such as Isambard Kingdom Brunel's six weeks with a half-sovereign lodged in his throat) that you barely notice the sheer volume of anatomical knowledge you're digesting ... makes complex subjects simple and eminently entertaining.'

It is a feat of narrative skill to bake so many facts into an entertaining and nutritious book..where Byrson really shines is in his imaginative glosses on the facts he has collected.

The extraordinary story of what we are made of and how we work ... This revelatory book reads as captivatingly as a thriller.

Through anecdotes about scientific history and startling facts that seem too extraordinary to be true—the DNA in one person, if stretched out, would measure billions of miles and reach beyond Pluto—Bryson draws the reader into his subject. ... Bryson’s tone is both informative and inviting, encouraging the reader, throughout this exemplary work, to share the sense of wonder he expresses at how the body is constituted and what it is capable of.

Bryson rummages about in our vital organs, emerging with a parade of fascinating facts.

‘Classic, wry, gleeful Bryson… richly interesting… an entertaining and absolutely fact-rammed book. If it sells hundreds of thousands of copies, like the last one, it will be no bad thing.’

[Bill] takes us with him, wondering at the complex functions of the tongue, seeing him stick a finger in the aorta…The book’s a bestseller.

There is not an organ Bryson describes that is not illuminated by a fun fact or unlikely anecdote.

Bryson tackles the body in an amusing, fact-filled guide

Written with his trademark wit and insight

As ever, the bestselling writer takes a familiar subject and delivers one revelation after another

A comforting compendium of fascinating facts

The brook bristles with data…but the star turns are Bryson's wry forays into the histories of
neuroscience, genetics, anatomy and immunology.

Stuffed with enthralling, often mystifying facts.

BOOKS OF THE YEAR - 'You'll never look in the mirror the same way again'

One of the strengths of Bryson’s delightful new book... is that it reveals the thousands of rarely acknowledged tasks our body takes care of as we go about our day

A joy to read ... every paragraph contains at least one startling, even awe-inspiring fact ... Infused with an infectious sense of wonder at the miraculousness of it all.

Absolutely beautiful writing, Christie Watson captures both the intense joy and searing heartbreak of love

A salute to the profession, the book is also a mediation on motherhood

An insightful reminder of exactly how vital it is to treat one another with kindness and compassion, at a time when we need it most

A powerful memoir

Timely and highly original

Brilliant and moving

The Consequences of Love is undoubtedly one of this year's most hotly-anticipated books, and with good reason

Brilliantly written and heartbreaking but also joyful and uplifting

Extraordinary . . . profoundly moving

A brave, lyrical, painful tale of bereavement, addiction, and the building of a new life

Superbly written. Beautifully written and utterly heartbreaking. Courageous, inspired, bleakly comic, extreme candour

Searing

Hodge's beautiful memoir is both a devastating, grief-fuelled account of her sister's death and a redemptive tale of an emotional reckoning

It's a vivid and oddly entertaining memoir, a hand plunged into the dark hole of grief . . . uncovers surprising treasures - most importantly, strength, resilience and love

Searing. A masterful writer with a gift for storytelling. Her prose is rich with detail, combining a sharp sense of place with escalating drama. A triumph

The most moving, most exquisitely written book about addiction, grief, loss and coming to terms with trauma even decades on. One that you will be thinking about, and remember long after finishing

One of the most beautiful memoirs I've ever read. This story will say with you long after you put the book down

I just turned the last page (reluctantly!). A bold, often brutal exploration of memory, grief and love. Full of hope and heart. I can't recommend it enough

A brave, brilliant book that is both beautiful and important. Read it then buy it for all your friends

Gavanndra's memoir The Consequences of Love is absolutely beautiful. It's compelling, heartbreaking, sweet, honest, fascination. I recommend it HIGHLY. I absolutely LOVED it.

This stunning exploration of grief is so well written and profoundly moving

An elegant study of grief and memory

Hodge pours heartbreak and love into the pages of a book that never pretends to know the answers, and is all the better for it

An eye-opening snapshot of the fashion world in '90s London