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  • Gulp

  • Adventures on the Alimentary Canal
  • By: Mary Roach
  • Narrated by: Emily Woo Zeller
  • Length: 8 hrs and 21 mins
  • 4.4 out of 5 stars (59 ratings)
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Gulp cover art

Gulp

By: Mary Roach
Narrated by: Emily Woo Zeller
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Editor reviews

Editors Select, April 2013 - Mary Roach is willing to “go there” in the name of Science. She has tackled sexual physiology in Bonk, the life of cadavers in Stiff, and now takes on the (not-so-hot) topic of the digestive system in Gulp. This journey begins at the top and ends at the bottom of the legendary alimentary canal, but Roach does not take us there in a straight line. There are side excursions to visit experts in the field of morning breathe and pet-food engineers. We explore the power of salvia and the origin of mythical fire-breathing serpents. By asking seemingly ridiculous questions like, “Does noxious flatus do more than clear a room?” Roach manages to dismiss those common misconceptions we all seem to have but never question out loud. In Gulp she serves-up Science just the way I like it: Well-researched, relevant, offbeat, and hilarious. —Tricia, Audible Editor

Summary

Best-selling author Mary Roach returns with a new adventure to the invisible realm we carry around inside. Roach takes us down the hatch on an unforgettable tour.

The alimentary canal is classic Mary Roach terrain: The questions explored in Gulp are as taboo, in their way, as the cadavers in Stiff and every bit as surreal as the universe of zero gravity explored in Packing for Mars. Why is crunchy food so appealing? Why is it so hard to find words for flavors and smells? Why doesn’t the stomach digest itself? How much can you eat before your stomach bursts? Can constipation kill you? Did it kill Elvis?

In Gulp we meet scientists who tackle the questions no one else thinks of - or has the courage to ask. We go on location to a pet-food taste-test lab, a fecal transplant, and into a live stomach to observe the fate of a meal. With Roach as our guide, we travel the world, meeting murderers and mad scientists, Eskimos and exorcists (who have occasionally administered holy water rectally), rabbis and terrorists - who, it turns out, for practical reasons do not conceal bombs in their digestive tracts. Like all of Roach’s books, Gulp is as much about human beings as it is about human bodies.
©2013 Mary Roach (P)2013 Tantor
Gastrointestinal Social Sciences Biological Sciences
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Fantastic

A thoroughly entertaining listen. Educational with so many interesting facts. Mary Roach always keeps things interesting and is an amazing writer

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  • L
  • 02-05-18

Gutsy

A fun little pop-sci book. However, we got a lot of the end and beginning, but not of the middle processes. I would have rather had three books for each topic, as none of them gave me anything but a brief overview.

Though, perhaps I was expecting too much. I'd just like something in between a textbook and a pop-sci book on these digestive processes, as they seem fascinating.

Still, it was entertaining and quick to read. I liked the narrator very much, who kept it lively throughout. I'm not sure I'll be reading more of Roach - I really liked Stiff, but all these other books of hers seem to encompass much larger subject matter, which, if they are anything like this one, will be rushed through.

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1 person found this helpful