Replaceable You, Mary Roach

 Mary Roach's Replaceable You delivers her blend of meticulous research, dark humor, and relentless curiosity that her fans have come to love, making the quest to repair and replace human body parts fascinating. As usual, she humanizes highly technical and often nauseous subjects, covering everything from the history of prosthetic limbs and early skin grafts to the cutting-edge science of 3D-printed organs and xenotransplantation (pig-to-human parts). Roach takes readers into operating rooms, tissue donation centers, and niche labs.

Her ‘smart-ass’ attitude and structure can sometimes feel disjointed.  She moves rapidly from the seriousness of organ donation to the lighter topic of hair plugs or cosmetic surgery… not necessarily a strong narrative throughline. For readers new to Roach's work, her signature style, which often treats grotesque or taboo topics with matter-of-fact, sometimes irreverent humor, might occasionally push the boundaries of what you may deem comfortable.