On Muscle

‘A truly moving ode to the tissues that move us‘ Ed Yong, bestselling author of An Immense World and I Contain Multitudes From the bestselling author of Why We Swim comes a mind-expanding exploration of muscle that will change the way you think about how we move through the world. In On Muscle, Bonnie Tsui blends science, culture, immersive reporting and personal narrative to examine not just what muscles are but what they mean to us. Cardiac, smooth, skeletal-these three different types of muscle in our bodies make our hearts beat; push food through our intestines, blood through our vessels and allow for motion. Tsui also traces how muscles have defined beauty through the ages and how they play an essential role in our physical and mental health. In a globe-trotting journey of discovery, Tsui introduces us to the first female weightlifter to pick up the famed Scottish Dinnie Stones, then takes us on a 50-mile run through the Nevada desert that follows the path of escape from a Native boarding school, giving the concept of endurance new meaning. She travels to Oslo, where cutting-edge research reveals how muscles help us bounce back after injury and illness, an important aspect of longevity. She jumps into the action with a historic Double Dutch club in Washington, D.C., to explain anew what Charles Darwin meant by the brain-body connection. On Muscle is a powerful reminder of the many ways muscle shows what we‘re truly capable of. ‘You‘re about to learn more about yourself and your world than you could ever imagine‘ Christopher McDougall, bestselling author of Born to Run ‘On Muscle left me with a new appreciation for the mind-body connection and a better understanding of my place in the world‘ Des Linden, bestselling author of Choosing to Run