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The Body
- A Guide for Occupants
- Narrated by: Bill Bryson
- Length: 14 hrs and 47 mins
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The Body
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Listen to clips from the audiobook
- The Body by Bill Bryson
- Featuring original bonus material, exclusive to Audible
- The Body by Bill Bryson
- Featuring original bonus material, exclusive to Audible
- The Body by Bill Bryson
- Featuring original bonus material, exclusive to Audible
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Behind the scenes
Watch our exclusive interview with the best-selling author as he reveals the inspiration behind The Body.Editor reviews
“Between the mysterious, the unexpected, the unknown and the undiscovered The Body: A Guide for Occupants takes us through all the weird and wonderful parts of the human body with humour, historical anecdotes and some truly jaw-dropping facts. Somehow, with all that jam packed in, listening to it still feels like an entertaining coffee with an old friend. I have loved many of Bill Bryson’s books but I think this one may have just jostled its way to the top of my list of favourites. Definitely take a listen if you’ve ever wondered why or how your body does what it does, or, if not, take a listen for the multitude of amazing facts you can pull out at your next awkward dinner party.” (Alex, Audible Editor)
“In this illuminating history of the human form, Bill Bryson presents scientific research in an accessible way, introducing a host of individuals including the world’s first kidney transplant recipient and the Nobel Prize-winning Peter Medawar. Covering everything from sleep to immunity, I came away from listening to the audiobook with a newfound appreciation and respect for my body. A perfect listen for new and existing Bill Bryson fans alike.” (Jess, Audible Editor)
The life and times of Bill Bryson
Born in Des Moines, Iowa, in 1951, Bill Bryson now resides in the UK. His best-selling, wry-humoured books cover travel, the English language, history and popular science.
In 1972, longing to experience the wider world, Bryson left his home state and toured Europe, delighting in its strangeness. Returning the following year, he took a job at a psychiatric hospital before embarking on a career in journalism. His first published book, The Lost Continent (1989), recounts a tour of America, though he’s claimed this wasn’t a travel book. “It was more sociological” he says. “I was looking at this country that I’d grown up in and seeing how it had changed – and how I had changed.”
Summary
'We spend our whole lives in one body and yet most of us have practically no idea how it works and what goes on inside it. The idea of the book is simply to try to understand the extraordinary contraption that is us.’
In the best-selling, prize-winning A Short History of Nearly Everything Bill Bryson achieved the seemingly impossible by making the science of our world both understandable and entertaining to millions of people around the globe.
Now he turns his attention inwards to explore the human body, how it functions and its remarkable ability to heal itself. Full of extraordinary facts and astonishing stories, The Body: A Guide for Occupants is a brilliant, often very funny attempt to understand the miracle of our physical and neurological makeup.
What listeners say about The Body
Average customer ratingsReviews - Please select the tabs below to change the source of reviews.
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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
- Roger Boyle
- 16-10-19
Excellent starter in Anatomy, Physiology and Bioch
I've been a doctor for over 30 years and enjoyed the book immensely.
Loved the stories about the famous, ( and less famous) characters in medicine and the amazing complexity of our bodies and disease
An interesting overview of over investigation( particularly in USA) and Health Outcomes ( US & UK excellent examples)
I found the pronunciation of some words slightly jarring to UK ears, but perhaps I've said it wrong for nearly 4 decades!!!
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67 people found this helpful
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Overall3 out of 5 stars
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Performance1 out of 5 stars
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Story3 out of 5 stars
- M. Woods
- 09-10-19
Sending me to sleep
I love Bill Bryson's books - but he should have got a professional actor/reader to narrate this. Bill's soft monotone keeps sending me to sleep. Given it three goes of the first two chapters, but just can't listen anymore. I'm going to have to return this audio and maybe get a print copy.
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65 people found this helpful
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Overall3 out of 5 stars
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Performance3 out of 5 stars
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Story3 out of 5 stars
- Rupert Maddison-Roberts
- 12-10-19
Hard listening
Shame he didn’t pay William Roberts to read it as with his other books. Bought it on the strength of his previous work but he’s narrated it himself and he’s no professional narrator- disappointing
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55 people found this helpful
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Overall4 out of 5 stars
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Performance3 out of 5 stars
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Story5 out of 5 stars
- Mark D
- 28-10-19
Great book, let down somewhat by the narration
This was my first time listening to a Bill Bryson book and whilst the story had all the ingrediants I enjoy about his work, the narration made it difficult to fully appreciate. The author has a very soft voice without huge range and as such, I often found myself having to rewind and turn the volume up high to hear what had just been said. It didn't stop me enjoying the material, but it definitely sent me back to the kindle version for large sections. I'll continue to invest in Bill's books - but I don't think i would choose another audio book where the author has narrated the work himself.
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52 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
- Bammosan
- 13-10-19
Bill Bryson at his best.
This is Bill at his best, full of wonder and the ability to put across scientific information in a sometimes humorous but concerned and hopeful way,
His audiobooks are always enhanced when he reads them himself, this is no exception. You can listen to an abridged version on BBC Sounds radio 4, but I encourage you to get the full version it will become a go to textbook for healthcare personnel and members of the public and educational establishments.
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36 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
- Avril
- 09-10-19
An early review.Do not start this book at bedtime!
I always fall upon Bill Bryson books as soon as they are published. This one is utterly enthralling from the first word. Read by Bill Bryson himself (what a lovely voice) the narrative kept me awake and thoroughly engaged until I was forced by tiredness to pause it at 4am. If I wasn’t so busy I’d be listening again now., my head is bursting with very interesting facts about the mysterious and wondrous human body,and I’m sure I will reread many times in future.
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27 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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Story3 out of 5 stars
- Labrador with class
- 04-10-19
Not one of Bryson's best...
I was counting down the days to the release of this book, as I am a huge fan of Bill's books; then devoured it in one day. Alas, all I was left with was a slight feeling of indigestion, not a lasting feeling of fullness. it feels like a slightly rushed summary of high school level biology spiced up with a few truly interesting morsels. it lacks Bryson's usual personal experiences, anecdotes and insights. I will, of course, buy his next book, and maybe try nibbling on it first, instead of swallowing it whole...
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26 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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Story4 out of 5 stars
- texaspetey
- 10-10-19
Sends me into a sleep slumber whilst educating
Don’t know what it is but there is something very soothing about Bill Bryson’s voice that is just perfect to listen to before sleep. I set my timer for 30 mins and more often then not I’m asleep by 20 minutes. I repeat the books to make sure I listen to the whole book and cover the bits I drifted off to!
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24 people found this helpful
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Overall2 out of 5 stars
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Performance1 out of 5 stars
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Story2 out of 5 stars
- Stephen M.
- 24-12-19
Disappointing
I love Bill Bryson books.I've read or listened to all of them. His normally witty storyline interspersed with funny anecdotes and facts around the timeline are missing here. This feels like a review of a medical textbook, lacking in an sense of enthusiasm by the author. He is not a narrator and doesn't have a voice for audible. I actually found him hard to listen to in the first few chapters and by the time I'd got used to his tone and pace the book was finished. I'd skip this one
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21 people found this helpful
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Overall1 out of 5 stars
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Performance1 out of 5 stars
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Story1 out of 5 stars
- HEB
- 03-11-19
Just couldn't listen
I was really looking forward to this book as I am a great admirer of the author. However, after less than an hour I had to return it as I just couldn't listen to his narration any more. Very disappointing and I wish they had used an actor.
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13 people found this helpful
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Overall3 out of 5 stars
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Performance1 out of 5 stars
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Story4 out of 5 stars
- Ævar Arnfjörð Bjarmason
- 07-10-19
Average, really needs a professional narrator,
It's great when certain authors narrate their own works, as you can really feel their enthusiasm for the subject, but boy is this not one of those cases. Bryson manages to sound monotone, unexcited and borderline out of breath throughout.
I've read many of Bryson's earlier books, this is the third one of his that I've read with a scientific theme read after "A Short History..." and "At Home". He's still not quite capturing what made "A Short History..." great. This book's a mixture of scientific fact, anecdotes and personal observations.
Sometimes there's a great mix of those, but more often than not the science suffers because too much time is taken on some personal observation or anecdote that that isn't all that interesting, or some other mixture of the three.
Finally, for a book that's partly trying to explain a technical subject it contains an infuriating mismatch of differing systems of units of measure. Sometimes Bryson will refer to length in feet, or meters, or weight in kilos, pounds or stones, he might provide conversions, or he might not. Unless you're comfortable in metric, imperial and the UK's various quaint units of measure you'll find yourself pausing to do the conversions yourself.
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15 people found this helpful
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Overall4 out of 5 stars
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Performance3 out of 5 stars
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Story4 out of 5 stars
- Alberto Simal
- 09-11-19
Sounds tired
Maybe it's me, maybe it's the fact that so much of the information was not new to me, but the book failed to engage me and surprise me like his "A short Story...". He sounded tired, less enthusiastic. It's a good book, nonetheless.
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3 people found this helpful
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Overall1 out of 5 stars
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Performance1 out of 5 stars
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Story3 out of 5 stars
- B.J.
- 13-07-20
Bad Narration
I think Mr. Bryson should have a professional narrator to re-read this book. His narration is flat, monotone, the voice sounds untrained, it really killed the audiobook for me, like someone boring is discussing even more boring stuff. That Mid-Atlantic accent of Mr. Bryson (neither American nor British) is irritating…Regardless of how many times I tried to finish the book, I couldn't…all due to the bad narration.
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1 person found this helpful
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Overall4 out of 5 stars
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Performance4 out of 5 stars
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Story5 out of 5 stars
- Thandi Lamprecht
- 18-06-20
It grows on you.
I have mixed feelings about this book - so much so that I actually returned it but now want to purchase it again. I found the first 1/4 very boring and kept falling asleep when I tried to listen to it at night. I then returned the book. Because I felt it wasn’t worth the credit. When I was having trouble sleeping a couple of weeks after I’d returned it, I thought I’d listen to it again (since it had worked so well as a sleep aid before..) but about 1/2 way in I was hooked. It’s a fascinating book and it gets better and better as it goes on. The last 1/4 is the best. My recommendation therefore is to buy this book and just be patient, it will grown on you. Enjoy!
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1 person found this helpful
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Overall3 out of 5 stars
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Performance5 out of 5 stars
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Story3 out of 5 stars
- James Fowler
- 24-04-20
Very Thoroughly Researched and Entertaining
This book is entertaining and thoroughly researched. The explanations of the facts, however, were very biased towards Evolution Theory.
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1 person found this helpful
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Overall5 out of 5 stars
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Performance4 out of 5 stars
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Story4 out of 5 stars
- Anonymous User
- 28-05-22
Not just a guide to ocupants
The breath of information packed in the book is, well, breathtaking. Bryson not only provides a full explanation of the body (parts) but also details our past and current (scientific) understanding of it. Although I was a bit disappointing to realize that we still have a long way to know how our own body functions (and dysfunctions), at least now I fell a bit less ignorant.
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Overall5 out of 5 stars
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- Chloe S
- 10-08-21
Lovely book
This book is fantastic! Entertaining, interesting and knowledgeable! Kept me gripped the whole way through!
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Overall5 out of 5 stars
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- Anonymous User
- 01-07-21
I certainly hope you do more Educational Books
I certainly hope you do more Educational Books Bill
My first Educational Audiobook was your Short History of Nearly Everything and I received it as a gift from my UK aunt and uncle and I would listen to it in my car over and over again. and I couldn't wait to listen to any other educational Audio Books you may have. When I found out that you wrote this new one called the Body I had to get it. I normally avoid subscription-based purchases as they lower my monthly income by a set amount but since audible was the only place I could verify had it in their collection I am more than happy to have paid their fee and I have greatly enjoyed this audiobook. I know that you said in one of your interviews that you were planning on slowing do and enjoying your retirement and I wish you all the best in this but if you ever decide to write another book and record it as an audiobook I will gladly buy it.
Kind regards
MR MSR Gannon
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Overall5 out of 5 stars
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Performance4 out of 5 stars
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- Carolien S
- 28-06-21
Fascinating review of how your body functions
I enjoyed this very much. I learned a lot of basic biology, but also met many interesting characters who influenced medical science. It definitely improved my overall knowledge of how my body functions. Highly recommend.
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Overall5 out of 5 stars
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- Anonymous User
- 10-04-21
Awesome
Bill Bryson has a magic way to tell you about things that you might have thought were boring but they are absolutely not! Thank you for this book.
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