The Human Body

October 15, 2015
An exploration, festooned with period images, of the ways medicine and medical technology have historically healed, restored, and strengthened us. Newquist kicks off the Smithsonian Invention & Impact series with a blindingly sunny picture of medicine's advance: "Truth be told, science has done a pretty good job of repairing just about everything in our bodies." As cases in point he traces the histories of prosthetics, aids, and transplants for six body parts from eyes to limbs. He then highlights the benefits of soap, aspirin, and antibiotics--but not vaccines, which are considered in a rather arbitrary third section along with old-time surgical practices and the invention of medical devices from microscopes to MRI scanners. The author juices up his inspirational tales of progress with anecdotes about such researchers as Jenner and Semmelweis who were ahead of their times, as well as plenty of gruesome references to amputations and injuries. (Some of the many photos and old images, such as a close-up of stitches in an eyeball, are likewise memorable.) But along with occasionally contradicting his own claims, he leaves promising topics from X-ray mania to gene therapy unmentioned, as well as such flies in the ointment as the limited durability of artificial joints or the rise of antibiotic-resistant bacteria. An arbitrary, loosely organized logjam of discoveries and successes, swept along on currents of relentless optimism. (resource list, index) (Nonfiction. 11-14)

COPYRIGHT(2015) Kirkus Reviews, ALL RIGHTS RESERVED.

November 15, 2015
Grades 4-7 The human body, for all of its amazing traits, is capable of breaking down, and this informative book covers both historical and modern innovations that help repair and strengthen it. Newquist splits it into three sections, Body Parts, The Medicine Cabinet, and Tools and Treatments, which are each divided into short, focused chapters. The scope of the topics is broadNewquist profiles plenty of historical treatments and inventions that, thankfully, are no longer in use, such as an artificial heart pump made out of an Erector set or dentures composed of cadaverous teeth. Although modern treatments are also mentioned, they're less comprehensive: for example, Newquist addresses 3-D printed organs and bionic prosthetics but not the increasingly prevalent use of robots in surgery. That quibble aside, the open page design and ample full-color photos and historical diagrams will easily draw in middle-grade readers, especially those looking for a more macabre look at history and science. A list of resources, including abundant websites, closes out this handsome volume.(Reprinted with permission of Booklist, copyright 2015, American Library Association.)