An easily digestible, reliably entertaining appreciation of muscle, “the vivid engine of our lives.”
A celebration of musculature in varying degrees and aspects.
Tsui recalls growing up in the shadow of an “impressively fit father” who lived and breathed exercise, was a tae kwon do and karate brown and black belt, and insisted the author and her brother train with him in a makeshift home gym in the garage. As a result, she grew into adulthood with the same preoccupation with “outrunning death” as her father did. These vivid memories fuel a multifaceted book exploring how the human musculoskeletal system is composed, how it functions, the ways to keep it optimally functioning as we age, and why it’s so critically important to daily life. To elaborate on themes of muscular strength and resilience in relation to the female species, Tsui profiles Jan Todd, the first female weightlifter to lift the Scottish Dinnie Stones in 1979, and Jan Suffolk, who, after embarking on a training regimen, would go on to become one of the world’s strongest women. Sections involving the author’s discussions on anatomical dissection are thought provoking and serve as apt reminders of the voluntary and involuntary muscle control we take for granted in everyday life, such as shoulder movement, heartbeats, posture, jumping, and even smiling and arching one’s eyebrows. The author of Why We Swim, Tsui discusses paralytic diseases and traumatic accidents that profoundly affect quality of life and what neuroscientists have discovered about the benefits of twitchy muscle movements during sleep to update and improve the brain-body connection. Undeniably fascinating is Tsui’s assessment of the biggest human muscle (the butt) and the smallest (the ear’s stapedius or the little muscle “goosebump” fibers). She also elaborates on the endurance of marathon runners and the mind-body connection where the brain interacts with the body to move its complex framework and network of bones, tissue, nerves, and senses. Grafting physical science with smooth, amiable storytelling, Tsui’s study creates a fun and fact-filled physiology lesson for readers of any knowledge level.
An easily digestible, reliably entertaining appreciation of muscle, “the vivid engine of our lives.”Pub Date: April 22, 2025
ISBN: 9781643753089
Page Count: 256
Publisher: Algonquin
Review Posted Online: March 4, 2025
Kirkus Reviews Issue: April 1, 2025
A remarkably thorough and thoughtful case for the reconciliation between science and faith.
A duo of French mathematicians makes the scientific case for God in this nonfiction book.
Since its 2021 French-language publication in Paris, this work by Bolloré and Bonnassies has sold more than 400,000 copies. Now translated into English for the first time by West and Jones, the book offers a new introduction featuring endorsements from a range of scientists and religious leaders, including Nobel Prize-winning astronomers and Roman Catholic cardinals. This appeal to authority, both religious and scientific, distinguishes this volume from a genre of Christian apologetics that tends to reject, rather than embrace, scientific consensus. Central to the book’s argument is that contemporary scientific advancements have undone past emphases on materialist interpretations of the universe (and their parallel doubts of spirituality). According to the authors’ reasoned arguments, what now forms people’s present understanding of the universe—including quantum mechanics, relativity, and the Big Bang—puts “the question of the existence of a creator God back on the table,” given the underlying implications. Einstein’s theory of relativity, for instance, presupposes that if a cause exists behind the origin of the universe, then it must be atemporal, non-spatial, and immaterial. While the book’s contentions related to Christianity specifically, such as its belief in the “indisputable truths contained in the Bible,” may not be as convincing as its broader argument on how the idea of a creator God fits into contemporary scientific understanding, the volume nevertheless offers a refreshingly nuanced approach to the topic. From the work’s outset, the authors (academically trained in math and engineering) reject fundamentalist interpretations of creationism (such as claims that Earth is only 6,000 years old) as “fanciful beliefs” while challenging the philosophical underpinnings of a purely materialist understanding of the universe that may not fit into recent scientific paradigm shifts. Featuring over 500 pages and more than 600 research notes, this book strikes a balance between its academic foundations and an accessible writing style, complemented by dozens of photographs from various sources, diagrams, and charts.
A remarkably thorough and thoughtful case for the reconciliation between science and faith.Pub Date: Oct. 14, 2025
ISBN: 9789998782402
Page Count: 562
Publisher: N/A
Review Posted Online: Oct. 7, 2025
Review Program: Kirkus Indie
A sweet final word from an actor who leaves a legacy of compassion and kindness.
The late actor offers a gentle guide for living with more purpose, love, and joy.
Mixing poetry, prescriptive challenges, and elements of memoir, Heche (1969-2022) delivers a narrative that is more encouraging workbook than life story. The author wants to share what she has discovered over the course of a life filled with abuse, advocacy, and uncanny turning points. Her greatest discovery? Love. “Open yourself up to love and transform kindness from a feeling you extend to those around you to actions that you perform for them,” she writes. “Only by caring can we open ourselves up to the universe, and only by opening up to the universe can we fully experience all the wonders that it holds, the greatest of which is love.” Throughout the occasionally overwrought text, Heche is heavy on the concept of care. She wants us to experience joy as she does, and she provides a road map for how to get there. Instead of slinking away from Hollywood and the ridicule that she endured there, Heche found the good and hung on, with Alec Baldwin and Harrison Ford starring as particularly shining knights in her story. Some readers may dismiss this material as vapid Hollywood stuff, but Heche’s perspective is an empathetic blend of Buddhism (minimize suffering), dialectical behavioral therapy (tolerating distress), Christianity (do unto others), and pre-Socratic philosophy (sufficient reason). “You’re not out to change the whole world, but to increase the levels of love and kindness in the world, drop by drop,” she writes. “Over time, these actions wear away the coldness, hate, and indifference around us as surely as water slowly wearing away stone.” Readers grieving her loss will take solace knowing that she lived her love-filled life on her own terms. Heche’s business and podcast partner, Heather Duffy, writes the epilogue, closing the book on a life well lived.
A sweet final word from an actor who leaves a legacy of compassion and kindness.Pub Date: Jan. 24, 2023
ISBN: 9781627783316
Page Count: 176
Publisher: Viva Editions
Review Posted Online: Feb. 6, 2023
Kirkus Reviews Issue: March 1, 2023
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