Synopses & Reviews
It's the first sign of life: that quick inhalation parents wait to hear their babies take, that reassuring gasp of air. From then, each of us breathes 19,000 times daily. That's 650 million inhalations over an average lifespan, all taken involuntarily. We might not give it a second thought, but Joe Sherman does.
In his exhaustive review, Sherman traces the evolution of air as a science and as a concept, sketching short, fascinating biographies of obscure geniuses and modern-day wonders alike. Think of sixteenth-century homeopath Paracelus who introduced the idea that illnesses could be airborne. Or Lance Armstrong. Sherman visits a respiratory clinic and learns how his aerobic capacity differs from the famous cyclist's. Such portraits, along with a reasoned look at modern concerns — pollution, transmission of diseases like anthrax or SARS — offer air as a substance readers can hold in their minds as well their lungs.
Synopsis
From a baby's first breath-that universal and fundamental entry into life outside the womb-air is taken for granted. Joe Sherman's Gasp is an entertaining investigation of air and the discoveries of how it works in the body and in our world. Inhale, and learn about the difference between your aerobic capacity and Lance Armstrong's; exhale, and follow the observation and science of the atmosphere from Aristotle to Nobel laureate Paul Crutzen; hold your breath and investigate why over the last two centuries air has transformed from something marvelous into something menacing. In Gasp, Pulitzer Prize nominee Joe Sherman blends the history and myths of air, together with its environmental and physiological effects, into a rich and sometimes troubling account of what gives us our life force. It is a fascinating look at this vital, complex substance and its place in history, myth and everyday life.