An Edinburgh GP with a love of geography, Francis approaches the human body as a landscape, rich in history and myth. This is not a coldly clinical survey of anatomy. Rather, it celebrates the practice of medicine as “an exploration of life’s possibilities: an adventure in human being”. In this deeply humane book, Francis draws on his own experience of cases together with history, literature and science, to reveal how we have tried to make sense of the complexities of our bodies. He begins at the top with the brain, recalling the first time he held this extraordinary organ in his hands: “grey, firm and laboratory-cold”. Then he takes the reader on a tour across the terrain of our bodies, one which is both familiar and yet also strangely unknown: the face, the heart, shoulder, liver, genitalia and toes. Throughout, he shows “how as humans we charge our bodies with meaning, whether funny or solemn”. A beautifully written guide to our wonders and weaknesses that combines the precision of science with a profound insight into the human condition.

• To order Adventures in Human Being for £7.19 (RRP £8.99) go to bookshop.theguardian.com or call 0330 333 6846. Free UK p&p on online orders over £10. A £1.99 charge applies to telephone orders.