Gulp: Adventures on the Alimentary Canal

by Mary Roach, 352 pages.

Gulp takes us on a journey through the strange history of human digestion.  If the human stomach can break down the things I eat, why doesn't it also eat itself?   Who decides which parts of an animal are tasty, and which are inedible?  What's the purpose of saliva, and why is it always falling out of my mouth when I see a pizza commercial?

Gulp was a really interesting read, and Roach's writing is very accessible and often hilarious.

Animal lovers beware: many chapters highlight the terrible things humans have done to animals in the name of science.  Yikes.