{"title":"Books by Mary Roach","description":null,"products":[{"product_id":"9780141007458","title":"Stiff","description":"\u003cp\u003e\u003cb\u003eWhat happens to your body after you have died?\u003c\/b\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003ci\u003eFertilizer? Crash Test Dummy? Human Dumpling? Ballistics Practise?\u003c\/i\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e Life after death is not as simple as it looks. Mary Roach's \u003ci\u003eStiff\u003c\/i\u003e lifts the lid off what happens to our bodies once we have died. Bold, original and with a delightful eye for detail, Roach tells us everything we wanted to know about this new frontier in medical science.\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e Interweaving present-day explorations with a history of past attempts to study what it means to be human \u003ci\u003eStiff\u003c\/i\u003e is a deliciously dark investigations for readers of popular science as well as fans of the macabre.\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003e'Spry, common, sharp-witted survey brings a whole new meaning to the phrase \"Life after death\"' \u003ci\u003eSunday Times\u003c\/i\u003e\u003c\/b\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003e\u003cbr\u003e'One of the funniest and most unusual books of the year' \u003ci\u003eEntertainment Weekly\u003c\/i\u003e\u003c\/b\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003e\u003cbr\u003e'Every chapter packed with more arresting details elegantly humourously expressed than one can hope for' \u003ci\u003eSunday Telegraph \u003c\/i\u003e\u003c\/b\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e","brand":"Gardners","offers":[{"title":"Default Title","offer_id":43201403420850,"sku":"9780141007458","price":11.99,"currency_code":"GBP","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0612\/7193\/3106\/files\/9780141007458.jpg?v=1786011236"},{"product_id":"9780861543649","title":"Animal Vegetable Criminal","description":"\u003cp\u003eWhat’s to be done about a drunken elephant? A monkey caught mugging passers-by? A trespassing squirrel? Mary Roach delves into the unpredictable world where wildlife and humans meet.   ‘Delightful’ Ed Yong, author of An Immense WorldFollow Mary Roach as she investigates laser scarecrows, robo-hawks, human-elephant conflict specialists and monkey impersonators. Travel to the bear-busy back alleys of Aspen, the gull-vandalized floral displays at the Vatican and leopard-terrorized hamlets in the Himalayas. In this fresh, funny and thoroughly researched book, dive into the weird and wonderful moments when humanity and wildlife bump up against one another.\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eAN AMAZON BEST BOOK OF 2021‘A provocative and engaging exploration of our evolving relationship with the rest of nature.’ Guardian‘Combining diligently researched scientific reporting with the sniggering wit of a stand-up comic… Animal Vegetable Criminal loves an eyebrow-raising anecdote.’ The Times‘An idiosyncratic tour with Roach as the wisecracking, ever-probing guide… My favorite moments, ultimately, weren’t the funny ones, but those that reveal a bit of scientific poetry.’ New York Times\u003c\/p\u003e","brand":"Gardners","offers":[{"title":"Default Title","offer_id":43204165107890,"sku":"9780861543649","price":9.99,"currency_code":"GBP","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0612\/7193\/3106\/files\/9780861543649.jpg?v=1786016161"},{"product_id":"9781786070890","title":"Grunt","description":"A finalist for the Los Angeles Times Science \u0026amp; Technology Book Prize‘The most entertaining writer in science’ – The Times, Books of the YearWar. Mention it and most of us think of history, of conflicts on foreign soil, of heroism and compromise, of strategy and weapons. But there’s a whole other side to the gruesome business of the battlefield.   In Grunt, the inimitable Mary Roach explores the science of keeping human beings intact, awake, sane, uninfected and uninfested in the bizarre and extreme circumstances of war. Setting about her task with infectious enthusiasm, she sniffs World War II stink bombs, tests earplugs in a simulated war zone and burns the midnight oil with the crew of a nuclear submarine. Speaking to the scientists and the soldiers, she learns about everything from life-changing medical procedures to innovations as esoteric as firing dead chickens at fighter jets. Engrossing, insightful and laugh-out-loud funny, this is an irresistible ride to the wilder shores of modern military life.","brand":"Gardners","offers":[{"title":"Default Title","offer_id":56305598103925,"sku":"9781786070890","price":11.99,"currency_code":"GBP","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0612\/7193\/3106\/files\/9781786070890_92452d59-b83b-44b6-8eec-7e2c897b0d0a.jpg?v=1786025636"},{"product_id":"9781836431558","title":"Replaceable You","description":"\u003cp\u003eThe body is the most complex machine in the world, but what happens when the parts start to fail? Meet the scientists facing the challenge…\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eAN AMAZON AND TIME BOOK OF THE YEAR Our bodies regenerate at a remarkable rate – our skin replaces itself every month, our blood every four. You can remove ninety per cent of a liver and it’ll still grow back to its original size (please do not try this at home). Others – the brain, the heart, the eyes – are more complicated. These stay with us for life.\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eSo what do we do when they break down? For centuries, medicine has searched for answers – sculpting noses from brass, borrowing skin from frogs and hearts from pigs and crafting eye parts from jet canopies. And as technology has grown ever more ingenious, so have our solutions.\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eIn Replaceable You, Mary Roach sets sail on the uncharted waters of regenerative medicine, exploring the remarkable advances and difficult questions prompted by the human body’s failings:When and how does a person decide they’d be better off with a prosthetic than their existing limb? Is there a sensitive way to harvest tissue and bones from the deceased? Which animals might be the best organ donors? Through experiments and interviews with patients, physicians, pathologists, engineers and scientists, Roach immerses readers in the wondrous, improbable and surreal quest to build a new you.\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003e***'Full of engaging accounts of scientific advances in the field of the human body.' The Times\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003e'Addictively readable... Don't miss it.' Deborah Blum, author of The Poisoner’s Handbook\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003e'This is a book that makes you feel clever while also making you laugh.' Daily Mirror\u003c\/p\u003e","brand":"Gardners","offers":[{"title":"Paperback","offer_id":57682695389557,"sku":"9781836432524","price":10.99,"currency_code":"GBP","in_stock":true},{"title":"Hardback","offer_id":56307636961653,"sku":"9781836431558","price":18.99,"currency_code":"GBP","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0612\/7193\/3106\/files\/9781836432524_46f9ec77-6492-43a1-a242-71a0828853d1.jpg?v=1792511605"},{"product_id":"9781847670809","title":"Six Feet Over","description":"\u003cp\u003e\u003ci\u003eDoes the light just go out and that's that - the million-year nap? Or will some part of my personality, my me-ness, persist? What will that feel like? What will I do all day? Is there a place to plug in my laptop?\"\u003c\/i\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003eMary Roach trains her considerable humour and curiosity on the human soul, seeking answers from a varied and fascinating crew of contemporary and historical soul-searchers: scientists, schemers, engineers, mediums, all trying to prove (or disprove) that life goes on after we die.\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003eAlong the way she encounters electromagnetic hauntings, out-of-body experiences, ghosts and lawsuits: Mary Roach sifts and weighs the evidence in her hilarious, inimitable style.\u003c\/p\u003e","brand":"Gardners","offers":[{"title":"Default Title","offer_id":56308517437813,"sku":"9781847670809","price":10.99,"currency_code":"GBP","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0612\/7193\/3106\/files\/9781847670809_36d83628-6ec2-4a1f-975d-76b8fa18395b.jpg?v=1786029666"},{"product_id":"gulp","title":"Gulp","description":"In her fantastically disgusting international bestseller, Mary Roach dives into the strange wet miracles of science that operate inside us after every mealSHORTLISTED FOR THE ROYAL SOCIETY WINTON PRIZE 2014‘Almost every page made me laugh out loud.’ The Sunday Times, Best Science Books of 2013Eating is the most pleasurable, gross, necessary, unspeakable biological process we undertake. But very few of us realise what strange wet miracles of science operate inside us after every meal – let alone have pondered the results (of the research). How have physicists made crisps crispier? What do laundry detergent and saliva have in common? Was self-styled ‘nutritional economist’ Horace Fletcher right to persuade millions of people that chewing a bite of shallot seven hundred times would yield double the vitamins? In her trademark, laugh-out-loud style, Mary Roach breaks bread with spit connoisseurs, beer and pet-food tasters, stomach slugs, potato crisp engineers, enema exorcists, rectum-examining prison guards, competitive hot dog eaters, Elvis' doctor, and many more as she investigates the beginning, and the end, of our food.   ‘A wonderful nonfiction read… The journalism is gripping and the writing is intensely funny. If biology had been like this at school, my life would have taken a different path.’ Observer, Hidden Gems of 2016","brand":"Gardners","offers":[{"title":"Default Title","offer_id":57487791882613,"sku":"9781780749891","price":11.99,"currency_code":"GBP","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0612\/7193\/3106\/files\/9781780749891.jpg?v=1786355016"},{"product_id":"bonk","title":"Bonk","description":"\u003cp\u003eFew things are as fundamental to human happiness as sex, and few writers are as entertaining about the subject as Mary Roach.\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003eCan a woman think herself to orgasm?\u003cbr\u003eIs your penis three inches longer than you think?\u003cbr\u003eWhy doesn't Viagra help women - or, for that matter, pandas?\u003cbr\u003eDoes orgasm boost fertility? Or cure hiccups?\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003eThe study of sexual physiology - what happens, and why, and how to make it happen better - has been taking place behind closed doors for hundreds of years. In this fascinating and funny book, Mary Roach steps inside laboratories, brothels, pig farms, sex-toy R\u0026amp;D labs - even Alfred Kinsey's attic - to tell us everything we wanted to know about sex, and more we'd never even thought to ask.\u003c\/p\u003e","brand":"Gardners","offers":[{"title":"Default Title","offer_id":57490186862965,"sku":"9781847672360","price":10.99,"currency_code":"GBP","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0612\/7193\/3106\/files\/9781847672360.jpg?v=1786442071"}],"url":"https:\/\/backstory.london\/collections\/author-mary-roach.oembed","provider":"Backstory","version":"1.0","type":"link"}