Prime Mover: A Natural History of Muscle

by Steven Vogel

Book Overview

Whether we blink an eye, lift a finger, throw a spear or a ball, walk, run, or merely breathe, we are using muscle. Although muscles differ little in appearance and performance across the animal... This description may be from another edition of this product.

• Format: Paperback
• Language: English
• ISBN: 039332463X
• Release Date: August 2003
• Publisher: W. W. Norton & Company
• Length: 386 Pages
• Weight: 0.75 lbs.
• Dimensions: 8.2" x 0.9" x 5.5"

Customer Reviews

Explains complex concepts simply

This book introduces a variety of topics related to muscles and the energetics of work including: comparative anatomy, physiology, basic mechanics of simple machines, history of machines that use muscles, etc. The style is engaging, lively, and clear. Many concepts, some of them complex, are described in a way that non-specialists can understand, although, occasionally, the reader may have to work a bit. It helps if you have some previous knowledge of physiology but it isn't absolutely necessary. If you would like to learn about insect muscles, Roman catapults, and row boats, buy this book.

Prime Mover

This was a gift for my husband who promptly buried his face in it, leaving it only to eat, sleep, and go to work for the next week. He's been a walking encyclopedia since then with regard to how muscle does the work it was intended for. I believe he even liked this one more than Vogel's "Cats' Paws and Catapults".

Fascinating book on the function of muscles in the body

This book is written in such an engaging and accessible style, it would be an entertaining read for anyone who enjoys reading about science. Because it is written by a university professor and noted scholar with plenty of documentation, it would also be an excellent textbook for biology classes in secondary schools, colleges or even universities. It has 370 pages and includes a table of contents, plenty of illustrations, a list of references, and useful and informative endnotes. The author, Steven Vogel, Ph.D., is a professor of biology at Duke University in Durham, NC. Dr. Vogel has won the Irving and Jean Stone Prize for Science Writing for Public Understanding, and I can understand why. He makes very complicated biological processes clear and understandable to a lay audience. He works in the field of biomechanics and has written many other books besides this one for the lay public on science.I sought out this book due to a personal fascination with the function of muscles in the body as part of a larger research project of mine into chronic health conditions, such as fibromyalgia and entrapped nerves, chronic fatigue syndrome, and the effects of the stress (AKA "fight-flight-freeze" response) on the muscles of the body, which in many cases leads to chronic pain. In the process, I became interested in the function of all muscles throughout the body. I consider this book an outstanding permanent addition to my scientific reference library and recommend it unreservedly for that purpose to anyone interested in this topic. I have also read and reviewed Vogel's book on the circulatory system, Vital Circuits, and highly recommend it as well.Kate McMurry

Blending science, health, history, and mechanical insights

Steven Vogel's Prime Mover provides a natural history of muscles and how they work, from exploring artificial and natural muscles in other creatures and in man's creations to understanding the power and limitations of the human muscle. Biomechanics comes alive in a discussion blending science, health, history, and mechanical insights.

Best book I have seen on the topic.

This is a very good book. It is interesting and written with the lay person in mind, yet, is able to present an overview of a very complex field of study. The first half is a synopsis of muscle and how it works. The second half describes how humans have put muscles to work in practical ways - how tools are designed to get the most out of how humans are built. Muscles: It may come as somewhat of a surprise that muscle physiology is so complex and is yet to be well understood by modern science. This makes our everyday understanding of muscles all the more important. Vogel's book is a good place to start in this quest, indeed, for a more complete review of muscle physiology, I think one would have to consult University level texts.