Mustn't Grumble

'...an unexpected literary genre: the compulsively readable medical reference book. You start with the things that currently plague you, and then you keep on reading, happily passing entire afternoons absorbed in the odd and revolting things our bodies serve up...If laughter is the best medicine, a dose of Lawton ought to cure most of this stuff.' Mary Roach

One of the many strange effects of the 2020 pandemic has been to make us much more vigilant about the state of our health in general and about minor symptoms in particular. And this, in turn, has made us more conscious that we all feel slightly out of sorts a great deal of the time; maybe even every day.

This book is not about what happens when we're ill with something sufficiently serious to send us to the doctor or confine us to bed. Instead, it focuses on the multitude of mild, irksome, distracting illnesses, aches and pains with which we all put up with constantly.

Covering 120 ailments, Graham explains the latest scientific thinking about everything from blackheads to chilblains; dead legs to haemorrhoids; ear wax to hiccups; and hay fever to heat stroke. It's a mixture of science and history, with a light touch, and provides practical information about each ailment for the reader.

Graham Lawton has created an unexpected literary genre: the compulsively readable medical reference book. You start with the things that currently plague you, and then you keep on reading, happily passing entire afternoons absorbed in the odd and revolting things our bodies serve up. Fool's blackheads! Head eggs! Meibum! If laughter is the best medicine, a dose of Lawton ought to cure most of this stuff. -- Mary Roach
It would be easy to pick an important science book on climate change or the pandemic, but we're miserable enough already, aren't we? My favourite escape from the news cycle this year was Mustn't Grumble by Graham Lawton (Headline Home). It has a simple but ingenious premise: we're all a bit ill most of the time, so what exactly is going on with our bodies? Lawton covers the science behind 100 mild ailments, such as sore throats, dead legs, dark circles under the eyes and a cricked neck. It's not important, but it is witty, compelling and deeply informed: the perfect guilty pleasure. [Best Books of the Year 2021] -- Michael Brooks New Statesman
Science writer Graham Lawton spent months recording all his minor ailments, and then investigating why we all suffer from these daily health niggles. The result is this readable book, covering 120 minor complaints from hiccups and hay fever to piles and chilblains. Woman's Weekly

Graham Lawton is a senior staff writer and columnist at New Scientist magazine and the writer behind two New Scientist books which have been published by John Murray: The Origin of (Almost) Everything (2018) and This Book Could Save Your Life: The Science of Living Longer Better (2020). He has a BSc in biochemistry and an MSc in science communication, both from Imperial College, London. He lives in London.

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