A review by hilaritas
Anatomies: A Cultural History of the Human Body by Hugh Aldersey-Williams

3.0

I had high hopes for this book given the subject and the author. However, I found it to be a middling effort. The book canvasses a wide range of anecdotes, literary allusions, biological information, and cultural approaches to bodies and body parts, chiefly organized by organ. Sounds great, right? Unfortunately, it's scattershot and the author's insights are superficial and at times highly suspect. The end of the book is a strangely hostile tirade against transhumanists that lacks much, if any, connection to the bulk of the book. I wish this had been the book I imagined it could be.