Praise for Carol Ann Rinzler’s Leonardos Foot,
A Selection of the Scientific American, History, BOMC2, Quality Paperback & Military Book Clubs
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"Our reviewer declared that this book represents some of the best writing about science for the non scientist that he has encountered in recent years. The focus, of course, is the foot and the author provides an impressive array of facts, figures and stories about it, along with a great deal of history, etymology and cultural perspective." --American Association for the Advancement of Science
"Except for putting on socks and shoes or trimming toenails, people pay little attention to their feet. After all, feet are the furthest anatomical thing from the mind—literally. Health writer Rinzler lifts the lowly human foot to new heights in this appealing book. Soliciting assistance from the fields of art, evolutionary science, history, etymology, literature, and biomechanics, Rinzler shows how the human foot is much more than a conglomeration of tissues or a potential homesite for corns and calluses. Its unique design (the adducted position of the big toe, plantigrade sole, and firm arches) allows humans to stand up on two legs and remain upright—not an easy task. Bipedal locomotion (whether walking or running) is even more difficult and amazing. In our evolutionary development, a reliable set of feet and upright posture likely preceded the emergence of our vaunted big brains. Certain conditions including clubfoot, gout, and flatfeet receive plenty of attention in the book. Foot fetish, the Chinese custom of binding feet, and the use of human feet as biblical symbols get discussed, too. Leonardo da Vinci wrote, 'The human foot is a masterpiece of engineering and a work of art.' He got that right." --Tony Miksanek --Booklist (starred review)
"Rinzler clearly enjoyed researching her subject and can't stop herself from going on interesting digressions, often bringing up one or two mostly unrelated topics within the course of a paragraph. She's at her best when discussing medical history and etymology." -- Library Journal
"Stylish, informative, entertaining, and pleasantly personal . . . Whether Rinzler is exploring how our feet explain or illuminate such topics as evolution, disability, racism, diet, or desire, she maintains a fascinating perspective on the peculiarities of being human."
--Rain Taxi Review of Books
"This neat little book draws a clear picture of our feet, providing understanding that extends far beyond the obvious. Readers often like to walk away from a book feeling they learned something--that the author left them with a new way to look at an old idea, and this book fulfills that need." City Book Review/San Francisco & Sacramento (five stars)
"An in-depth look at the anatomy and history of feet reveals their often overlooked importance in human evolution, medicine and art." --Science News
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Carol Ann Rinzler is the author of more than thirty books on health and medicine, including Nutrition For Dummies, an international bestseller translated into fourteen languages that led to a stint as nutrition columnist for the New York Daily News. Rinzler's award-winning Estrogen and Breast Cancer: A warning for women (1993, 1995) was among the first to document the link between hormone therapy and an increased risk of breast tumors. Her four books in the Dummies series (Nutrition plus Controlling Cholesterol,Weight Loss, and Heartburn and Reflux) make complex medical facts and figures accessible to the general reader. As for her own reading, she says that "as a writer who specializes in medical subjects, my absolutely favorite books are my almost-complete sets of the Merck Manual and the Merck Index. This wonderful collection is an extraordinary record of the history of illness and orthodox treatment in the United States that makes it possible to track the evolving diagnosis, description and treatment of a disease or condition over more than a century. For example, in one chapter of my new book, Leonardo's Foot, I was able to use the Manuals to show the changes in how people regarded and treated flatfoot, a seemingly non-controversial deformity once used to identify those believed to be Devil's disciples. I am still searching for the second edition of the Manual, published in 1901. Alas, each new volume in the series was so widely available that doctors simply tossed out the old one when the latest one appeared."
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