Pump: A Natural History of the Heart is a well written, layman accessible, information rich look at the heart by Dr. Bill Schutt. Originally released in 2021, this reformat and re-release to coincide with the papaerback release from Algonquin is 288 pages. The book is also available in hardcover, audio, and ebook formats.
I liked so many things about this book. It's well written and laid out logically. The author moves from the actual physiology and function, to a comprehensive (and very entertaining) history of scientific understanding about the organ, and our gradual understanding and exciting future prospects including regenerative medicine (fix it! make it better!). Graphically, it's typeset in a high contrast easy to read typeface with illustrations and drawings scattered throughout. I really loved the drawing of the immense blue whale heart preserved in plastic absolutely *looming* over the author.
Although it's written with the layperson in mind, it's well annotated throughout. The chapter notes will make for engaging further reading. It is,
admittedly, a niche book and will appeal especially to readers interested in biology, physiology, and natural history. The
language is accessible and informal. The author has a gift at
distilling difficult and complex concepts into smaller digestible bits
and I can imagine he would be an engaging and worthwhile lecturer.
Five stars.
Disclosure: I received an ARC at no cost from the author/publisher for review purposes.
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