Gulp

Adventures on the Alimentary Canal

By: Mary Roach

Narrated by: Emily Woo Zeller

Length: 8 hrs and 21 mins

Publisher's summary

Best-selling author Mary Roach returns with a new adventure to the invisible realm we carry around inside. Roach takes us down the hatch on an unforgettable tour.

The alimentary canal is classic Mary Roach terrain: The questions explored in Gulp are as taboo, in their way, as the cadavers in Stiff and every bit as surreal as the universe of zero gravity explored in Packing for Mars. Why is crunchy food so appealing? Why is it so hard to find words for flavors and smells? Why doesn’t the stomach digest itself? How much can you eat before your stomach bursts? Can constipation kill you? Did it kill Elvis?

In Gulp we meet scientists who tackle the questions no one else thinks of - or has the courage to ask. We go on location to a pet-food taste-test lab, a fecal transplant, and into a live stomach to observe the fate of a meal. With Roach as our guide, we travel the world, meeting murderers and mad scientists, Eskimos and exorcists (who have occasionally administered holy water rectally), rabbis and terrorists - who, it turns out, for practical reasons do not conceal bombs in their digestive tracts. Like all of Roach’s books, Gulp is as much about human beings as it is about human bodies.

©2013 Mary Roach (P)2013 Tantor

Fantastic Narrator

I loved the narrator on this book! The content of the book itself was great as well :)

Missing pieces of the book

I have the physical copy of this book as well. This author uses a LOT of footnotes to make side comments and jokes. Some are multiple paragraphs long. I noticed that the audiobook doesn’t incorporate them all, thereby leaving out big chunks of the book.

I can see how a lot of them would be difficult to incorporate seamlessly - but taking them out entirely doesn’t seem like the right solution.

Stereotyped portrayal of female scientists

I haven't finished this book yet, but I'm not sure that I am going to be able to. This book is offensive in the way it portrays women scientists. Inevitably, the appearance of female scientists is described. "The latex blue of the gloves so well matched the gray of her blouse that they might have been part of the ensemble." Male scientists are not subject to this treatment. For a book published in 2014, this is freaking unbelievable.

Fascinating and gross! (in a fun way)

first time reading Mary Roach - I was in the mood to learn about digestion in the vein of how I can be a better ...user of the gut, and this is not that education. but, lots of fun and gross stories along the development of our understanding of digestion

Entrances, exits, and just how did Elvis die?

All in all, this was an easy read and certainly enlightening. Everything you ever may have wondered and all that you never really wondered about your gut, from top to bottom.

Most of it was amusing stuff you'd never want to discuss with anyone, but some of it was especially interesting. I am speaking of the preferred way of smuggling items into jail in California penal facilities--who ever thought? I am almost sorry I now have to think of this!

And perhaps most interesting of all is the Elvis story. You need to wait for the last part of the book for this zinger, but it is surely worth waiting for. You will realize Elvis didn't die from drugs and obesity, it was something much more sad and chilling. Changes my whole feeling for my former childhood idol. It redeems him in my eyes. Poor Elvis.

Making Science More Palatable

Mary Roach is willing to "go there" in the name of Science. She has tackled sexual physiology in Bonk, the life of cadavers in Stiff, and now takes on the (not-so-hot) topic of the digestive system in Gulp. This journey begins at the top and ends at the bottom of the legendary alimentary canal, but Roach does not take us there in a straight line. There are side excursions to visit experts in the field of morning breathe and pet-food engineers. We explore the power of salvia and the origin of mythical fire-breathing serpents. By asking seemingly ridiculous questions like, "Does noxious flatus do more than clear a room?" Roach manages to dismiss those common misconceptions we all seem to have but never question out loud. In Gulp she serves-up Science just the way I like it: Well-researched, relevant, offbeat, and hilarious.

Love Mary Roach, the narrator less so

Where does Gulp rank among all the audiobooks you’ve listened to so far?

Gulp ranks pretty high. In some ways, it's an ideal audio book. Small, interesting episodes around a single theme, lively narrator, and lots of humor.

What was the most compelling aspect of this narrative?

Roach's descriptions of the scientists who are so drawn in by what seem to us the humdrum (or gross) details of how our bodies work.

What three words best describe Emily Woo Zeller’s performance?

Bubbly, round, and irrepressible. She gives a solid performance, although at times I was annoyed by her delivery - which was a little over the top on the humor

If you could give Gulp a new subtitle, what would it be?

Fun times in your tummy. (also, I don't really like this question)

Any additional comments?

Totally worthwhile, especially if you like light-science non-fiction.

I love Mary Roach!

She writes with frankness and humour about topics that make me a big squirmy. During this book, I kept wanting to talk about it with friends: digestive enzymes, bacteria.... Somehow they weren't as excited about the alimentary canal as I was.

This is gross (in the best possible way) and interesting stuff. What a joy to read a book by Mary Roach! She always delivers. She is a tight and clever writer.

Roach had guts!

clarity and humor as only Mary Roach can pack into a story about our guts! excellent read, recommend for school health classes.

Easy, Entertaining and Informative

What did you love best about Gulp?

The combination of science and humor.

What other book might you compare Gulp to and why?

Tonally and anecdotally like Freakonomics, making a new sense of world we think we might know.

What does Emily Woo Zeller bring to the story that you wouldn’t experience if you just read the book?

Emily Woo Zeller's narration is clear, wry where wryness is called for.