Big Ol' Body Book

This giant book Atlas of Human Anatomy and Surgery is 714 pages of body parts as envisioned by Taschen, one of the finest publishers of books on art, graphic design, architecture, pop culture and other quirkery. If you are an anatomy nut, you will find the gorgeous detail of the book's intricate full color plates very satisfying indeed. The atlas, published in 8 volumes in the mid-1800s, was  two decades in the making, a collaboration between surgeon Jean Baptiste Marc Bourgery and illustrator Nicolas Henri Jacob. Just look at the veins on that brain! And so that's what a cross-section of the spine would look like! Also interesting in Taschen's catalog: Aesthetic Surgery, all about, well, trying to improve on what nature gave ya. It's out of stock, but you can still look at the fascinating and sometimes grotesque pictures. You can even send this mouth image as an e-card.