Replaceable You: Adventures in Human Anatomy
Mary Roach

This is the second book by Mary Roach that I’ve read, the first being Gulp (which, as I said in my review, wasn’t the best book to read after eating lunch—but still an interesting read).

Mary is an engaging author and takes the time to understand and know her subject. Her dedication to her topic was evident in this book as she takes the reader to various places in the world to see the future of replacement parts of the human body, such as China to see where pigs are bred for possible human transplantation, and to Boston, Massachusetts to talk to the scientists who are working on replacement skin for burn patients.

The human body is an amazing machine and duplicating parts for replacement hasn’t been easy. Despite amazing advances, scientists haven’t totally been successful in this endeavor though what they have been able to do is notable.

Consider how the iron lung was able to keep patients alive during the polio epidemic, when their own respiratory muscles were unable to keep them alive, or how artificial joints are allowing people to walk, run, or even compete in the Paralympics.

I appreciated the fact that that author Mary Roach didn’t just talk to the scientists on the cutting edge of replacement parts, but she also spoke to those patients who currently have a replacement, such as an artificial foot or leg, or someone who has had to have his or her colon or bladder removed and now has a stoma to allow waste products to be stored and eliminated.

While Mary focus was the future of replacement parts, another book I read and previously reviewed, which would make a nice companion to Replaceable You: Adventures in Human Anatomy looked at the history of replacement (transplant) surgery: Spare Parts: The Story of Medicine Through the History of Transplant Surgery by Paul Craddock.

This is an easy book to read, not overly technical, but technical enough when it needs to be. I enjoy author Mary Roach’s approach to writing, making it approachable to casual readers but of interest to those who have a bit more of a medical background.

4/5 stars

[Thank you to NetGalley and the author for the advanced ebook copy in exchange for my honest and objective opinion, which I have given here.]