The world's religions encourage us to view the body as a reliable companion, as a capable mediator of our experience of the world, as a vehicle of transformation, and as a temple of God. Despite this exalted view of the body, there still exists a widespread belief that the body is a burden and not to be taken seriously. To counter that tendency, we like to recommend resources which help us to be more nurturing toward our bodies. This fascinating and unusual work by Joan Liebmann-Smith, a medical sociologist and award-winning medical writer, and Jacqueline Nardi Egan, a medical journalist, is a treasure trove of information about our flesh.

There are nine sections on hair, eyes, ears, nose, lips and mouth, throat and neck, torso and extremities, private parts, skin and nails. Vetted by a panel of 18 medical experts, Body Signs is intended to demystify the body and enable readers to become proactive in catching danger signals. It is not meant to replace consultation with a physician or other licensed health care provider. In addition, the authors identify seven signposts including signs of the times (historical anecdotes), quotations or sayings on the body, significant facts (little-known, often weird, occasionally useful), and stop signs (strategies for preventing signs from recurring).

Here's a brief sampler of some material from Body Signs:

• "Americans spend almost $10 million each year on hair analysis to help uncover their health and nutritional status."

• "In some cultures, blinking was yet another way to inflict the evil eye on someone. And the term blinker was used in parts of the British countryside to describe those who possessed the evil eye. Even sick cows were said to be 'blinked,' because it was thought the evil eye had been cast upon them."

• "Our sense of smell is the most acute of all our senses. It's 10,000 times more sensitive than our sense of taste. Indeed, up to 90% of what we perceive as taste is actually smell."

• "The human voice is the organ of the soul."
— Henry Wadsworth Longfellow

• "Each hour, we shed about 600,000 particles of skin — that's an astonishing 1.5 pounds a year. By age 70, the average person will have shed about 105 pounds of skin."