The Secret Family: Twenty-Four Hours Inside the Mysterious World of Our Minds and Bodies

by David Bodanis

Book Overview

Extraordinary photography and fascinating text observe what goes on in our minds and bodies through a day of ordinary activities. Full color throughout. This description may be from another edition of this product.

• Format: Paperback
• Language: English
• ISBN: 0684845938
• ISBN13: 9780684845937
• Release Date: May 1999
• Publisher: Simon & Schuster
• Length: 222 Pages
• Weight: 0.31 lbs.
• Dimensions: 0.5" x 7.5" x 9.5"

Customer Reviews

Incredible journey into things we don't see

This is one of those books, which is highly informative, entertaining and has "repeat" value. I read this book twice in succession and even though i rented it from the library, i feel so compelled by the information in it that i am purchasing a copy for my bookshelf . I know, i will refer to it often to reaffirm to myself ,nothing is ordinary as it seems. For eg: Postage stamps, those tiny square pieces which we lick , stick and forget. I quote how this book unravels it " Postage stamps are an intricate layered sandiwch of chemicals. The glue is a true masterpiece of the chemist's art. Think of a problem. Not only does the glue have to be sticky enough to hold onto a envelope, but it has not to be so sticky that it grabs permanently on your tongue. It has to do this with onlythe amount of salive we're happy to dribble off and then it has to stick to the envelope firmly, but still you give you a moment or two to readjust its position. Finally, even once the chemists have worked out something that's tongue attractive and humidity resistant and briefly free-sliding, they still have have to throw it out if it tastes bad. Or offends anybody's religion. Ir is too expensive. Or is too high in calories."This is just a sample. The books jumps and hops in a free wheeling away across many varied aspects of our lives, commenting and shedding light on them. For eg, Chicken breast is found white in the fast food centers, stuffed in salads or other food menu. WHy? Normally food tends to be green or reddish or brown, but very rarely white. This is because of the sedentary lifestyle of the modern-day chicken. The flight muscles in the breast don't get used much, so there's no reason for oxygen sotring red blood cells to be soaked darkly through them. AS a result, the breast comes out white.One thing you will definitely remember after reading this book is that you are never alone. Tuck yourself in the cleanest of bedsheets? Even then, there will be around 40000 pillow mites (ghastly miniature Rhino look alikes) crawling over the pillow.Right now, on our faces are armies of demodex mites. Harmless creatures feasting on our skin, unvisible to us.The pictures in the book are incredible. Read and enjoy!cheers!

A very interesting read...

I cannot elaborate much further than the other reviews already have. Simply stated, this book makes you think about everyday things in a different way. I am glad I purchased and read it. Yes, the photographs are amazing.

Fabulously frightening

This book provides a fascinating look into what goes on in our homes daily. The descriptions of what we eat, where we sleep, and how our bodies protect us from (too much) harm are incredible. Bodanis has researched nearly every aspect of family life, and explains to us what it all means. My only complaint about this book is that it doesn't have enough photographs. Those that it does have are splendid, however.

mind blowing!

It's not often you read a book that opens your mind to entire new worlds. Reading this made me feel like an explorer who has just discovered a world hidden in plain sight. Every page made me think "WOW"! This is a mind-expanding book.

Funny, entertaining, informative - a great read - buy it

The Secret Family by David Bodanis is a popular science book with a difference - it is funny and entertaining, as well as being informative. He has a talent for exposing hidden worlds in the most mundane of everyday activities: the food we eat, our shopping routines, family relationships and the way our bodies work. Plus he has the most amazing colour photographs of soap bubbles, scouring pads, eggshells, sweat droplets, CDs, and salt etc, magnified so much that they expose a different and beautiful world. He takes an ordinary family - parents, teenage daughter, ten year old son, baby and a dog - and traces them through a lazy Saturday breakfast and visit to the mall. After reading this you will never look at your supermarket orange juice or danish pastry with quite the same relish. You will eye your friends and family suspiciously as they carry huge populations of microscpic mites (demodex) on their eyelashes regardless of how clean they are and when two people kiss, the mites intermingle and new populations are born! Bodanis scatters his narrative with interesting curiosities - how the yellow sticky notes were invented, the origins of the doberman, the arbitrary address system for mail in parts of Japan, and how supermarkets use synthetic smells, colour and music to get us to walk slowly, buy more, and eat faster. I'm a fan of Bodanis, and recommend his earlier books too (The Secret House and The Secret Garden). So if you want to give yourself a treat, read this book, and then buy one for a friend.