The Manga Guides The Manga Guide to Physiology, (Paperback)

I think this book is a painless way to introduce students and other learners to physiology. The thick, Japanese-style (black and white) comic-book style is fun and engaging, as it explains how the major systems of the human body actually work. It seems to me to assume a junior-high to high-school level understanding of the human body, yet it starts each chapter with the absolute basics and builds from there, in simple, clear language. And the story helps, too. It follows a young college student who needs to take a make-up exam after failing her first Physiology 101 exam. A student teacher, preparing to teach the course the following semester, offers to tutor her for practice. Together, they explore various simple yet clever analogies to better understand the various systems without getting lost in details. However, the book does go into detail, within the story and in the end-of-chapter summaries, which are as detailed as most college-level textbooks, though written better and more concisely than most. Regardless, I think the book would be a great introduction to physiology for anyone. The student teacher explains his, and the book's, general approach, in this way: “Remember, if you want to help patients and put your knowledge of physiology to use, it will take more than just memorization. You also have to see the bigger picture and understand how each part relates to everything else!” This book has definitely helped me to understand the “bigger picture” much more clearly than my text books ever did.