Delivery included to the United States

10% OFF Enter TENOFF at the basket

Offer expires Friday 6th June 2025 Terms and Conditions apply

Life at the Extremes

Life at the Extremes

Paperback (02 Jul 2001)

Not available for sale

Out of stock

This service is protected by reCAPTCHA and the Google Privacy Policy and Terms of Service apply.

Publisher's Synopsis

The debut of a female Steve Jones - likeable, literate, lucid and laconic. A sprightly, lavishly illustrated book on the science of human survival.

How do people survive extremes of heat, cold, depth, speed and altitude? This book explores the limits of human survival and the physiological adaptations which enable us to exist under extreme conditions. In man's battle for survival in the harshest of environments, the knowledge imparted by physiology, the 'logic of life', is crucial. What causes mountain sickness? Why is it possible to reach the top of Everest without supplementary oxygen, yet be killed if a plane depressurises suddenly at the same altitude. Why are astronauts unable to stand without fainting when they return to Earth? Why do human divers get the bends but sperm whales don't? Will men always be able to run faster than women? Why don't penguins get frostbite?

About the Publisher

Collins Flamingo

Book information

ISBN: 9780006551256
Publisher: HarperCollins Publishers
Imprint: Collins Flamingo
Pub date:
DEWEY: 612
DEWEY edition: 21
Language: English
Number of pages: 326
Weight: 250g
Height: 197mm
Width: 129mm
Spine width: 23mm