Overview

A journey into the heartbeat of life on Earth. Millennia ago, when we first began puzzling over the mysteries of the human body, one organ stood out as vital. The heart was warm, it was central, and it moved as it pumped blood. The ancient Egyptians treated it with reverence, mummifying it separately from the body so that the soul inside it could be weighed. Aristotle believed that it was the seat of consciousness. Over the centuries, science has dispelled the myths, but our fascination with the heart has endured. From the origins of circulation, still evident in some microorganisms today, to the enormous hearts of blue whales, we journey with Bill to beaches where horseshoe crabs are being harvested for their life-saving blood, and under the sea to learn about the world's most natural antifreeze, flowing through the veins of icefish. And we follow him through human history, too, as scientists hypothesize wrongly and rightly about what is arguably our most important organ, ultimately developing the technologies that have helped us study the heart--and now, in the most cutting-edge labs, the tools that will help us regenerate it. Deeply researched and engagingly told, Pump is a fascinating natural history sure to be loved by readers of Mary Roach and Bill Bryson.

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9781665110853

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Reviews

[A] show-stopping exploration of cardiac biology . . . Informative, playful, and impossible to put down. --Publishers Weekly, starred review This brisk and engaging history of hearts of all forms and sizes packs a punch. --Foreword Reviews, starred review An easy-to-read and fascinating look into the complexity and wonder of the heart in its many forms. --Booklist Wonderful. Pump is informative and entertaining and the science is impeccable. I highly recommend it. --Joseph C. Piscatella, author ofDon't Eat Your Heart Out Pump is an absolutely fascinating journey through the human heart by way of our animal kin. It's so packed with cool details, you'll want to read it twice. --Jennifer S. Holland, author of the New York Times bestselling Unlikely Friendships series Pump takes readers on a fantastic and fascinating voyage of all matters of the heart. --Cat Warren, author of What the Dog Knows As Bill Schutt delightfully shows us in his new book, hearts have gripping stories to tell about a huge range of topics, from the history of life on our planet to the foibles of humankind. --Ian Tattersall, coauthor of The Accidental Homo Sapiens Narrating stories from across the animal kingdom, Schutt brings his usual intelligence and humor to this well-curated natural history of the heart and circulatory system. Pump is not your cardiologist's book on the heart. A rich and entertaining read that will leave you feeling smarter. ---Darrin Lunde, Author of The Naturalist A fine overview of an essential organ. --Kirkus Reviews

Author Information

Bill Schutt is a professor of biology at LIU Post and a research associate in residence at the American Museum of Natural History. His first book, Dark Banquet: Blood and the Curious Lives of Blood-Feeding Creatures, was selected as a Best Book of 2008 by Library Journal and Amazon and was chosen for the Barnes & Noble Discover Great New Writers program. Born in New York City and raised on Long Island by parents who encouraged his love for turning over stones and peering under logs, Schutt quickly grew a passion for the natural world, with its enormous wonders and its increasing vulnerability. He received his PhD in zoology from Cornell and has published over two dozen peer-reviewed articles on topics ranging from terrestrial locomotion in vampire bats to the precarious, arboreal copulatory behavior of a marsupial mouse. His research has been featured in Natural History magazine as well as the New York Times, Newsday, the Economist, and Discover magazine. He is an active member of the North American Society for Bat Research and served on the Board of Directors for eight years. Schutt lives on the East End of Long Island with his wife and son. L. J. Ganser is the winner of the prestigious Audie Award for Best Nonfiction Narration for his work in The Island at the Center of the World. He has recorded over 450 titles, ranging from preschool books to crime noir thrillers, from astronomical adventures in both science and science fiction, to Arctic Circle high school basketball stories.

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