Sunday Times bestseller 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 reader on a journey through health & illness offering insights on everything from the ribbed surface of the brain to the secret workings of the heart & 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 & GP he blends first-hand case studies with reflections on the way the body has been imagined & portrayed over the millennia If the body is a foreign country then to practise medicine is to explore new territory Francis leads the reader on an adventure through what it means to be human Both a user's guide to the body & a celebration of its elegance this book will transform the way you think about being alive whether in sickness or in health Published in association with the Wellcome Collection WELLCOME COLLECTIONWellcome Collection is a free museum & library that aims to challenge how we think & feel about health Inspired by the medical objects & curiosities collected by Henry Wellcome it connects science medicine life & art Wellcome Collection exhibitions events & books explore a diverse range of subjects including consciousness forensic medicine emotions sexology identity & death Wellcome Collection is part of Wellcome a global charitable foundation that exists to improve health for everyone by helping great ideas to thrive funding over 14000 researchers & projects in more than 70 countries wellcomecollectionorg