Summary
We have a lifetime's association with our bodies, but for many of us they remain uncharted territory.
In Adventures in Human Being, Gavin Francis leads the listener on a journey through health and illness, offering insights on everything from the ribbed surface of the brain to the secret workings of the heart and the womb; from the pulse of life at the wrist to the unique engineering of the foot.
Drawing on his own experiences as a doctor and GP, he blends firsthand case studies with reflections on the way the body has been imagined and portrayed over the millennia. If the body is a foreign country, then to practise medicine is to explore new territory: Francis leads the listener on an adventure through what it means to be human.
Both a user's guide to the body and a celebration of its elegance, this audiobook will transform the way you think about being alive, whether in sickness or in health.Gavin Francis is an award-winning writer and doctor and a contributor to The Guardian, The New York Review of Books and London Review of Books.
Critic reviews
"Wonderful, subtle, unpretentious...produces a kind of complicity between the author, the reader, and the subject." (John Berger)
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What listeners say about Adventures in Human Being
Average customer ratingsReviews - Please select the tabs below to change the source of reviews.
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Overall5 out of 5 stars
- Clare Bassett
- 12-07-16
Super book
I really enjoyed it. I thought it was like the
James heriot of human medicine. Very interesting facts and engaging moving human stories
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1 person found this helpful
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Overall4 out of 5 stars
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Performance5 out of 5 stars
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Story4 out of 5 stars
- GB
- 29-11-23
This was generally an interesting and informative listen.
Like another reviewer, a little bitty. Still worth a listen though. Why the need for 15 words minimum?
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Overall5 out of 5 stars
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Performance5 out of 5 stars
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Story5 out of 5 stars
- JamesHurst
- 29-08-16
Fantastic
Highly, highly recommend this book. A clever mix of history, superstition and anecdotes. As a student nurse I found this style to be incredibly informative and enjoyable.
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2 people found this helpful
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Overall3 out of 5 stars
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Performance4 out of 5 stars
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Story2 out of 5 stars
- JF7588
- 03-04-16
More adventure?
What is here is good, is fine, is clever and well-put, but it is a bitty book and not wholly satisfying or well-shaped. There are better books on similar themes - 'Gut' for example, and, not on Audible, the essays of Gonzalez-Crussi - but the reading is clear and expressive, and there is something in every chapter to consider and surprise.
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Overall5 out of 5 stars
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Performance5 out of 5 stars
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Story5 out of 5 stars
- Caroline
- 03-01-16
Very enjoyable read!
Would you listen to Adventures in Human Being again? Why?
I really enjoyed the narrator of this book as well as the content. A really enjoyable read and I finished it in two sittings. Recommended if you enjoy medicine.
What about Thomas Judd’s performance did you like?
I really like his performance and his easy to listen to voice.
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Overall5 out of 5 stars
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Performance5 out of 5 stars
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Story5 out of 5 stars
- Amz
- 19-12-16
Brilliant
A clear journey through the body from head to toe, describing the wonderful workings of the human body. Highly recommended!
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2 people found this helpful
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Overall5 out of 5 stars
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Performance5 out of 5 stars
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Story5 out of 5 stars
- Dr Alison Phelan PHD
- 01-07-19
Brilliant
Read this over two days as I couldn’t put it down
Dr Francis you are a truly amazing human being
I will never look at a bottle of tomato ketchup in the same way!!!
Highly recommended
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