The Human Machine: How the Body Works / Edition 1

by R. McNeill Alexander

Overview

As Alexander himself states, "This book views the human body and its movements as an engineer might view a structure or a machine." Drawing on timely research and original material, it is an accessible and very comprehensive examination of human movement, exploring the mechanical principles on which this movement -- from facial expressions to athletic activity -- is based. Alexander's easy-going, descriptive style describes the science of biomechanics so that it becomes both relevant and intuitively reasonable.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9780231080668
Publisher:	Columbia University Press
Publication date:	12/10/1992
Pages:	176
Product dimensions:	7.83(w) x 10.30(h) x 0.74(d)
Age Range:	18 Years

About the Author

R. McNeill Alexander is an internationally known scientist in his field and holder of the Linnean Medal in Zoology. He is a fellow in the Royal Society, and has a Ph.D. from Cambridge and a D.Sc. from Wales. He is the author/editor of eleven books, and he has published more than 150 scientific articles. Currently he is Professor of Zoology at the University of Leeds in England.

Editorial Reviews

Written for the lay reader, this exegesis on the mechanics of human movement is similar in format to Alexander's Dynamics of Dinosaurs and Other Extinct Giants ( LJ 2/15/89). Alexander (zoology, Univ. of Leeds) has left out most of the biochemical complexities of even the simplest muscular movement. Still, to understand all the information presented, the reader needs to know the basics of high school algebra, physics, and biology, and the chapter on human speech may be slow going for nonscientists. Those wishing a more complete treatment of human mechanics as it relates to athletics can find it in Marlene J. Adrian and John M. Cooper's The Biomechanics of Human Movement (Benchmark Pr., 1989). Recommended for medium to large public and high school libraries.-- Robert Jordan, Univ. of Iowa, Iowa City

Library Journal

An exploration of the biophysics of the human body, for people with little or no scientific background. Pays special attention to the various athletic movements: running, jumping, swimming, cycling, throwing, etc., but also explores eating, breathing, blood circulation, speaking, and other daily activity. Well illustrated. Annotation c. Book News, Inc., Portland, OR (booknews.com)

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