GULP: A REVIEW.

"Those who know the human gut intimately see beauty, not only in its sophistication but in its inner landscapes and architecture." - Mary RoachMy obsession with fermentation, and the effects of fermentation, have beget infinite curiosities over the years (approximately). But perhaps none have been more persistent than my interest in the workings of the human body––digestion specifically. How does it work? Why doesn't our stomach digest itself? Do I really need to chew? What happens to food before and beyond the gullet? So when a book appeared that explained said curiosities––to those of us who don't read Doctor––I saved my pennies and bought it.Then I learned and laughed. A lot and aloud. What Mary Roach has done with her latest work "Gulp" is a taken a mostly taboo subject––the alimentary canal and all it's fascinating goings on––and turned it into entertainment. In this book, Roach explores such themes as chewing, swallowing, digesting, and, ahem - the science behind the behind - then renders them riveting. In fact, "Gulp" is some of the most sophisticated and well-researched toilet humor I've ever experienced.The reader finds themselves thinking differently about saliva, gastric acids, etc., or the reader finds themselves thinking at all about saliva, gastric acid, etc.. You follow the history of each of these extremely fine-tuned inner workings in a book that is equal parts science and hilarity. Could Jonah actually have survived in that whale? How DO they get cell phones into prisons? What important medical advances has our cultural revulsion to feces inhibited? The answers to these questions and many more can be found in the pages of "Gulp"––found and thoroughly enjoyed.- Jesse.