Woman: An Intimate Geography - Tapa dura

Despite scientific evidence to the contrary, as far as the health-care profession is concerned the standard operating design of the human body is male. So when a book comes along as beautifully written and endlessly informative as Natalie Angier's Woman:An Intimate Geography, it's a cause for major celebration. Written with whimsy and eloquence, her investigation into female physiology draws its inspiration not only from scientific and medical sources but also from mythology, history, art and literature, layering biological facts with her own personal encounters and arcane anecdotes from the history of science. Who knew, for example, that the clitoris--with 8,000 nerve fibres--packs double the pleasure of the penis; that the gene-controlling cellular sensitivity to male androgens, ironically enough, resides on the X-chromosome; or that stress hormones like cortisol and corticosterone are the true precursors of friendship? (The mysteries of evolution are not a new subject for Angier, a Pulitzer Prize-winning biology writer for the New York Times. The strengths of Woman begin with Angier's witty and evocative prose style but its real contribution is the way it expands the def)

#NAME? ('The author's passion for the joyful mysteries of our geography shines through every sentence')

INDEPENDENT ('"Think you know it all? Think again. WOMAN: AN INTIMATE GEOGRAPHT is nothing less than liberation biology. With wit, daring and a generous heart, Natalie Angier maps the female body, and proposes revolutionary possibilities for men and women. Anyone livi)

Gloria Steinem ('How did we ever get by without it? This book explains your life.')

This book brings to the understanding of the female body the talents of one of the most gifted science writers in English. Beginning with the egg & ending with the love of the female body is the template in this witty, searching, gleefully opinionated book. 'The idea of the body as a package of discrete organs, each operating independently of one another, is fast becoming outmoded & nearly useless. In fact, the interactions between organ systems are what count; they make us who we are,' says Angier. These interactions have stories to tell about the sources of aggression & sexuality, female sensations & smells, anger & pleasure. She explores hormones-oestrogen, testosterone, serotonin, adrenaline, pheromones-the chemistry of orgasm, pregnancy, breast milk & menopause. What can biology tell us about who we are? Every chapter is one to marvel at. Cumulatively, they 'sing the body electric,' as Walt Whitman wrote. From the double vantage of calm scrutiny & personal passion, this book gives us a fresh vision of what makes a woman.