By skyforbes 
On any ratings scale, I would give Mary Roach top marks for every book for her quality of writing and the spirit she brings to the subjects she tackles. Whether her focus is on the use of cadavers in medical science, the efforts of civilization to somehow control the animal kingdom (and always failing), or the process of trying to realize an actual manned mission to Mars (round-trip, as it’s the return that’s the tricky part right now), Roach takes an unflinching dive into the realm of scientific research with a simultaneously kindergarten-level of fascination, as eager to find out the long-term effects of space travel on the human psyche as she is to find out how astronauts pee and poop in zero-g. But she never lets her humor undercut the depth of her research or taint her insight. Her writing is always an exquisite balance of solid information, perspectives on human nature, and scatalogical snickering. Her books present an annal of humanity’s endless curiosity and persistence to make the world more hospitable to the desires of humanity. Which, of course, means that her oeuvre is also a testament to how the world and natural law won’t just lie down to our whims or our needs, yet how science won’t relent…and so the cycle rolls. In her latest, Replaceable You: Adventures In Human Anatomy, she looks into the current science behind replacing or enhancing parts of the human body, like providing organs to transplant patients that their bodies won’t try to instantly reject or destroy, or replace the skin of 3rd-degree burn victims, but also more elective replacements, like the desire to have Kardashian butts.
As with every other one of her books, Roach presents her endless enthusiasm for the scientific process, these people who work towards goals that may take (no exaggeration) decades to come to fruition, people who may never become notable except as endnotes in a scientific journal or buried in the latter half of a thick et al list. People who have blinders that let them obsess on ways to keep a heart beating inside of a box or how to design a breathing machine that emulates the benefits of the iron lung (MUCH different than a respirator) without forcing patients to encapsulate themselves. And not only does Roach show her curiosity from afar, but she’s also unafraid (mostly) to get her hands dirty, so to speak, like when she tries an iron lung on for size so she can relate the scary experience of having it stimulate your breathing.
Not that Roach is an infomercial cheerleader. The chapter on plastic surgery, for example, adeptly points out how the beauty standards plastic surgeons abide by and use to guide their female patients towards their ideal figures were (surprise!) mapped out by men. Like all her others, this book provides the intriguing backgrounds of these fields of study with related tidbits, like how the original Mr. Potato was simply a kit of limbs to be inserted into actual potatoes, and that the iconic funny nose and glasses originates from prosthetic noses, which were quite the rage at one time (perhaps due to the effects of syphilis). These noses were attached to fake glasses to avoid the need for a headstrap and a fake mustache to help hide the seam between the prosthetic and the natural skin.
But as much as I want to give every Mary Roach book two thumbs-up, five stars, or twenty bags of popcorn, I know that rating inflation could leave you unsure of where to begin if you haven’t had the privilege of dipping into Mary Roach’s books yet. In such cases, I would actually recommend some of my favs, like Stiff (on the medical use of cadavers), Fuzz (on efforts to control the animal kingdom) and Packing For Mars (which made me certain how I would never, EVER want to be an astronaut). While her books are probably the most entertaining and (accurately) informative science books you will ever read, my favs have always been the books that connect seamlessly, almost like novels taking us through stories of the human spirit and quest for deeper knowledge of how we and the world tick (often in different ways). I know this is a lot to ask for any book, and I am super-happy that Roach doesn’t sit on a subject just because the resulting book is more episodic than epic, but Roach sets the bar that high. Because she’s shown that she can vault it. Replaceable You has chapters that will amaze you with what we’ve been able to accomplish, and also the work that is already going to rot because of the recent cuts and holds on federal grants that funded these miraculous endeavors, so don’t take my persnicketiness as any kind of non-starter. Read any Mary Roach, and I think your appreciation and expectation for what science writing can do will be forever heightened.
