'Hayes's history of the illustrated medical text “Gray's Anatomy” coincides with the hundred-and-fiftieth anniversary of its first publication. Fascinated by the fact that little was known about the famous book's genesis, Hayes combed through nineteenth-century letters and medical-school records, learning that, besides Henry Gray, the brilliant scholar and surgeon who wrote the text, another anatomist was crucial to the book's popularity: Henry Vandyke Carter, who provided its painstaking drawings. Hayes moves nimbly between the dour streets of Victorian London, where Gray and Carter trained at St. George's Hospital, and the sunnier classrooms of a West Coast university filled with athletic physical therapists in training, where he enrolls in anatomy classes and discovers that “when done well, dissection is very pleasing aesthetically.” - The New Yorker

'All laud and honor to Hayes....In perusing the body's 650 muscles and 206 bones, he has made the case that we are, as the psalmist wrote, 'fearfully and wonderfully made' and that dissection has an aesthetic all its own. The act of carving open a body becomes, in this context, a perverse act of love, a desecration that consecrates 'the extraordinary, the inner architecture of the human form.' - The Washington Post

'How do you write a book about someone about whom next to nothing is known? For most writers, the answer would be move on to the next subject. But Bill Hayes has an unusual set of skills. The author of previous books on insomnia and blood, he is part science writer, part memoirist, part culture explainer. “The Anatomist,” his appealing new book about the man behind Gray's Anatomy, combines his search for the remaining traces of Henry Gray with a memoir of his own experience as a dissection student and a scalpel's-eye tour of the body.' - The New York Times

'Some of [Hayes's] most memorable writing describes the dissection classes he attended in San Francisco. We are treated to a selection of fascinating anatomical snippets about, for example, how to trace evidence of the sealed hole in the fetal heart through which the mother's blood enters; or how to find the kidney in a cadaver; or that blood flowing out of the heart is first used to feed the heart itself; or, best of all, a structural analysis of how the Queen manages to deliver such a uniquely restrained wave.' - Nature: The International Weekly Journal of Science

The classic medical text known as Gray's Anatomy is one of the most famous books ever written. Now, on the 150th anniversary of its publication, acclaimed science writer and master of narrative nonfiction Bill Hayes has written the fascinating, never-before-told true story of how this seminal volume came to be. A blend of history, science, culture, and Hayes's own personal experiences, The Anatomist is this author's most accomplished and affecting work to date.

With passion and wit, Hayes explores the significance of Gray's Anatomy and explains why it came to symbolize a turning point in medical history. But he does much, much more. Uncovering a treasure trove of forgotten letters and diaries, he illuminates the astonishing relationship between the fiercely gifted young anatomist Henry Gray and his younger collaborator H. V. Carter, whose exquisite anatomical illustrations are masterpieces of art and close observation. Tracing the triumphs and tragedies of these two extraordinary men, Hayes brings an equally extraordinary era–the mid-1800s–unforgettably to life.

But the journey Hayes takes us on is not only outward but inward–through the blood and tissue and organs of the human body–for The Anatomist chronicles Hayes's year as a student of classical gross anatomy, performing with his own hands the dissections and examinations detailed by Henry Gray 150 years ago. As Hayes's acquaintance with death deepens, he finds his understa

In this volume, a reprint from 1993, Galbraith analyzes 103 Japanese science fiction, horror, and fantasy films released in the US from 1950 to 1992. Organized by decade and Japanese release date, each film is described with a plot synopsis, critique, background on the production, reviews, and comparisons between Japanese and US versions. American and Japanese titles are included in the extensive filmography, as well as release dates, credits, running time, and ratings. Much of the information in the book has not previously been published, and Galbraith emphasizes information for lesser-known films over well-known ones. Fully-animated features are excluded. Galbraith is the author of The Japanese Filmography. Annotation ©2007 Book News, Inc., Portland, OR (booknews.com)

(Piano/Vocal/Guitar Artist Songbook). Including more than 60 classic songs of Christmas, this collection combines the talents of several experienced keyboard arrangers, offering a wide variety of musical styles. From traditional carols like 'Hark! The Herald Angels Sing' and 'O Little Town of Bethlehem' to songs for all ages like 'Jingle Bells' and 'We Wish You a Merry Christmas,' this folio provides a wealth of seasonal solos in a spiral-bound keepsake edition.

“This beguiling brew of fascinating scientific facts and illuminating, poignant anecdotes makes Five Quarts something like blood itself: vital and pulsing with energy.”
–Entertainment Weekly

From ancient Rome, where gladiators drank the blood of vanquished foes to gain strength and courage, to modern-day laboratories, where machines test blood for diseases and scientists search for elusive cures, Bill Hayes takes us on a whirlwind journey through history, literature, mythology, and science by way of the great red river that runs five quarts strong through our bodies. Hayes also recounts the impact of the vital fluid in his daily life, from growing up in a household of five sisters and their monthly cycles to his enduring partnership with an HIV-positive man. As much a biography of blood as it is a memoir of how this rich substance has shaped one man's life, Five Quarts is by turns whimsical and provocative, informative and moving.