The Human Machine: How the Body Works - Hardcover

Alexander, R. McNeill

Hardcover

ISBN 10: 0231080662 ISBN 13: 9780231080668

Publisher: Columbia University Press, 1992

Synopsis

Uses engineering principles to explain the mechanical workings of the human body.

About this title

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.

From the Back Cover

How do we walk, chew, speak, or use our hands? How does a pitcher wind up? Why does arthritis inhibit motion? No robot could ever duplicate exactly the delicate and complex mechanisms of human movement, so unique is the operation of the body. In The Human Machine, R. McNeill Alexander explains the mechanical workings of the human body by using engineering principles. This fascinating book analyzes the full range of body motion and all aspects of human movement from everyday activities such as writing to sporting techniques such as weightlifting. The book accurately explains the mechanical principles involved, detailing such activities as swimming and cycling. Alexander also discusses mechanical faults and accidents - medical problems that might disturb the working of the body - including sprains, bone fractures, arthritis and heart attacks. While there are other books on athletic movement, they attempt to describe only rudimentary mechanics and do not draw on recent findings. The Human Machine presents current theories and the latest experiments, and offers a completely detailed and interdisciplinary analysis of human locomotion needed for those in physical education, sports science, physiotherapy, nursing, human biology, kinesiology, or biomechanics. Whether scientists or laypersons with little background in science, people interested in how their own bodies work will find The Human Machine engrossing.

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
Copyright 1992 Reed Business Information, Inc.

Edition details

• Publisher: Columbia University Press
• Publication date: 1992
• Language: English
• ISBN 10: 0231080662
• ISBN 13: 9780231080668
• Binding: Hardcover
• Number of pages: 176