This “seriously entertaining book” explores the skin in its multifaceted physical, psychological, and social aspects (Times, UK). Providing a cover for our delicate bodies, the skin is our largest and fastest-growing organ. We see it, touch it, and live in it every day. It is a habitat for a mesmerizingly complex world of micro-organisms and physical functions that are vital to our health and survival. One of the first things people see about us, skin is also crucial to our sense of identity. And yet much about it is largely unknown to us. With rigorous research and lucid prose, Monty Lyman explores our outer surface through the lenses of science, sociology, and history. He covers topics as diverse as the mechanics and magic of touch (how much goes on in the simple act of taking keys out of a pocket and unlocking a door is astounding), the close connection between the skin and the gut, what happens instantly when one gets a paper cut, and how a midnight snack can lead to sunburn. The Remarkable Life of the Skin takes readers on a journey across our most underrated and unexplored organ. It reveals how our skin is far stranger, more wondrous, and more complex than we have ever imagined.

- Shortlisted for the Royal Society Science Book Prize 2019 - A Sunday Times 'MUST READ' - 'An exciting introduction to a little-known microscopic universe.' Sunday Times - 'A seriously entertaining book.' Melanie Reid, The Times - As read on RADIO 4's BOOK OF THE WEEK _______________ How does our diet affect our skin? What makes the skin age? And why can't we tickle ourselves? Providing a cover for our delicate and intricate bodies, the skin is our largest, fastest growing and yet least understood organ. We see it, touch it and live in it every day. It's a habitat for a mesmerizingly complex world of micro-organisms and physical functions that are vital to our health and our survival. It's also one of the first things people see about us and is crucial to our sense of identity. Our skin plays a central role in our lives. And yet how much do we really know about it? Through the lenses of science, sociology and history, Dr Monty Lyman leads us on a journey across our most underrated and unexplored organ. Examining our microbiome, our love of tattoos and whether or not beauty products really work, he reveals how the skin is far stranger and more complex than you've ever imagined.

In Skin, Monty Lyman takes us on a scientific journey around the largest organ in the human body. He first explores the terrain of the physical skin, picking out the facts from the fiction, and giving a fascinating insight into the skin's many vital functions, from sweating to blushing. He takes us on a 'safari', where we meet the many and varied microorganisms and bacteria which inhabit our skin, many of which perform vital health-giving functions and some of which can kill us. Along the way we learn things which will have the beauty industry scurrying for cover. Does our diet really affect our skin? What makes the skin age and how can we slow the process? Is it possible to prevent hair loss? And Monty explores the intriguing hinterland between the skin and the mind, from the pain and pleasure of touch to the physical effects of stress. Including case histories taken from Monty's experience around the world - from East Africa to New Zealand and everywhere in between - this brings our most misunderstood organ into the limelight as never before. Fascinating and jaw-dropping popular science for readers of Adventures in Human Being.

What is phantom limb pain? Can words actually hurt? Why do we experience pain, even after we've healed? We're currently experiencing a Renaissance in pain science. In recent years our understanding of pain has altered so radically it's fair to say that everything we thought we knew about pain is wrong. As Dr Monty Lyman reveals, we misunderstand pain - with harmful consequences. Exploring cutting-edge research that encompasses everything from phantom aches to persistent pain, as well as interviews with survivors of torture and those who have never felt pain, Dr Lyman not only provides hope for reducing and managing pain but takes us to a deeper understanding of what it means to be human. This is the untold story of pain - our most elusive feeling.

Named a Best Book of 2020 by NPR and Vanity Fair One of Smithsonian's Ten Best Science Books of 2020 “A searching and vital explication of germ theory, social norms, and what the modern era is really doing to our bodies and our psyches.” —Vanity Fair A preventative medicine physician and staff writer for The Atlantic explains the surprising and unintended effects of our hygiene practices in this informative and entertaining introduction to the new science of skin microbes and probiotics. Keeping skin healthy is a booming industry, and yet it seems like almost no one agrees on what actually works. Confusing messages from health authorities and ineffective treatments have left many people desperate for reliable solutions. An enormous alternative industry is filling the void, selling products that are often of questionable safety and totally unknown effectiveness. In Clean, doctor and journalist James Hamblin explores how we got here, examining the science and culture of how we care for our skin today. He talks to dermatologists, microbiologists, allergists, immunologists, aestheticians, bar-soap enthusiasts, venture capitalists, Amish people, theologians, and straight-up scam artists, trying to figure out what it really means to be clean. He even experiments with giving up showers entirely, and discovers that he is not alone. Along the way, he realizes that most of our standards of cleanliness are less related to health than most people think. A major part of the picture has been missing: a little-known ecosystem known as the skin microbiome—the trillions of microbes that live on our skin and in our pores. These microbes are not dangerous; they’re more like an outer layer of skin that no one knew we had, and they influence everything from acne, eczema, and dry skin, to how we smell. The new goal of skin care will be to cultivate a healthy biome—and to embrace the meaning of “clean” in the natural sense. This can mean doing much less, saving time, money, energy, water, and plastic bottles in the process. Lucid, accessible, and deeply researched, Clean explores the ongoing, radical change in the way we think about our skin, introducing readers to the emerging science that will be at the forefront of health and wellness conversations in coming years.

The remarkable woman at heart of the smash New York Times bestseller and Oscar-winning film Hidden Figures tells the full story of her life, including what it took to work at NASA, help land the first man on the moon, and live through a century of turmoil and change. In 2015, at the age of 97, Katherine Johnson became a global celebrity. President Barack Obama awarded her the prestigious Presidential Medal of Freedom—the nation’s highest civilian honor—for her pioneering work as a mathematician on NASA’s first flights into space. Her contributions to America’s space program were celebrated in a blockbuster and Academy-award nominated movie. In this memoir, Katherine shares her personal journey from child prodigy in the Allegheny Mountains of West Virginia to NASA human computer. In her life after retirement, she served as a beacon of light for her family and community alike. Her story is centered around the basic tenets of her life—no one is better than you, education is paramount, and asking questions can break barriers. The memoir captures the many facets of this unique woman: the curious “daddy’s girl,” pioneering professional, and sage elder. This multidimensional portrait is also the record of a century of racial history that reveals the influential role educators at segregated schools and Historically Black Colleges and Universities played in nurturing the dreams of trailblazers like Katherine. The author pays homage to her mentor—the African American professor who inspired her to become a research mathematician despite having his own dream crushed by racism. Infused with the uplifting wisdom of a woman who handled great fame with genuine humility and great tragedy with enduring hope, My Remarkable Journey ultimately brings into focus a determined woman who navigated tough racial terrain with soft-spoken grace—and the unrelenting grit required to make history and inspire future generations.

In The Skin, Curzio Malaparte extends the great fresco of European society he began in Kaputt. There the scene was Eastern Europe, here it is Italy during the years from 1943 to 1945; instead of Germans, the invaders are the American armed forces. In all the literature that derives from the Second World War, there is no other book that so brilliantly or so woundingly presents triumphant American innocence against the background of the European experience of destruction and moral collapse.

A heartfelt, beautifully written novel of love, loss, and math—perfect for fans of Rebecca Stead and Sharon M. Draper. This "tangible allegory of grief through the eyes of a struggling 12-year-old boy" has been cited by Brightly.com as a book about sadness and grief that will help support kids and foster conversation. Ever since twelve-year-old Charlie Price's mom died, he feels like his world has been split into two parts. Before included stargazing and Mathletes and Saturday scavenger hunts with his family. After means a dad who's completely checked out, comically bad dinners, and grief group that's anything but helpful. It seems like losing Mom meant losing everything else he loved, too. Just when Charlie thinks things can't get any worse, his sister, Imogen, starts acting erratically—missing school and making up lies about their mother. But everything changes when one day he follows her down a secret passageway in the middle of her bedroom and sees for himself. Imogen has found a parallel world where Mom is alive! There's hot cocoa and Scrabble and scavenger hunts again and everything is perfect . . . at first. But something doesn't feel right. Whenever Charlie returns to the real world, things are different, and not in a good way. And Imogen wants to spend more and more time on the other side. It's almost as if she wants to leave the real world for good. If Charlie doesn't uncover the truth, he could lose himself, the true memory of their mother, and Imogen . . . forever.

A powerful and very different account of war and its effect on those who fightThe Anzac battlefield on Gallipoli was made for snipers. Scrub, cliffs, spurs and hills meant that both Anzac and Turkish positions often overlooked one another. The unwary or unlucky were prey to snipers on both sides, and the sudden crack of a gunshot and instant death were an ever-present menace. The most successful and most feared sniper of the Gallipoli campaign was Billy Sing, a Light Horseman from Queensland who was almost unique among the Australian troops in having a Chinese-born father. A combination of patience, stealth and an incredible eye made him utterly deadly, with the incredible - and horrifying - figure of over 200 credited "kills". John Hamilton, author of the bestselling Goodbye Cobber, God Bless You, has written an extraordinary account of a hidden side of the campaign - the snipers' war. Following Sing from his recruitment onwards, Hamilton takes us on a journey into the squalor, dust, blood and heroism of Gallipoli, seen from the unique viewpoint of the sniper.

Sex, Lies and Handlebar Tape is the astonishing biography of French cycling star Jacques Anquetil. For the first time since his death in 1987, it reveals the extraordinary truth behind the legend, the man and the cyclist. His list of 'firsts' alone makes him worthy of a place in the cycling pantheon: the first man to win the Tour de France five times; the first man to win all three grand tours - the Tour de France, Giro d'Italia and Vuelta a España; and the first man to win both the Tour and Vuelta in the same year. However, the extraordinary life of Anquetil does not stop at his achievements on a bike. He candidly admitted to using drugs, offended legions of fans by confessing that his only motivation for riding was financial and infamously indulged his enthusiasm for the high life. He also seduced and married his doctor's wife, had a child with her daughter and then sustained a ménage à trois with both wife and stepdaughter under the same roof for 12 years. When this 'family' eventually imploded, he attempted to inspire jealousy in his former lovers by having a child with his stepson's ex-wife. Containing exclusive contributions from Anquetil's family, friends, teammates and rivals, Sex, Lies and Handlebar Tape untangles myth from reality and confirms that fact is definitely stranger than fiction.