Your Body, Illustrated

It's the one thing you've always had but don't fully understand.

What is it? It's your body — a natural wonder that illustrator David Macaulay explores, draws, and explains in his book, The Way We Work.

Sure, you know you have systems for breathing, digesting food, moving your blood around, and thinking. But you might be surprised to learn that, in Macaulay's view, your body is also home to raging rapids, rollercoaster dips, mysterious caverns, and bustling industrial zones. And occasionally, some muscle cells dance under a glittery disco ball, but that's another story.

Macaulay, 62, became well known by describing — with drawings — how things work. He's written much-loved books about buildings, such as pyramids, cathedrals, and mosques. And he's written about all sorts of machines, explaining stuff we use every day but don't understand, like how keys open locks.

But nothing beats the body, he said.

"It's the most wonderful collection of things we've every encountered," Macaulay said of his 6-year project to understand the human body in all its detail.

That's right: 6 years. Stop a minute and figure out what you were doing 6 years ago. If you're 8, you were a toddler who was probably learning to use the potty. If you're 11, you were just a kindergartner!