In Our Hands: A Hand Surgeon's Tales of the Body's Most Exquisite Instrument.

ARNOLD AREM 

For more than 20 years, Arem has performed surgery on just one part of the body--the hand--which he calls the "Rosetta stone of the soul" and the "exquisite extremity." Arem shares 11 case studies of patients whose hands he has repaired or in some cases partially created. In one instance, he fashioned opposable thumbs for a boy born without them, In another, a man's pet snake took a bite of his index finger. Arem had to amputate the finger but fashioned the tendons in a way that the man's middle finger works like an index finger. These stories impart the basics of hand anatomy. The rest of the text conveys how our hands factor into our daily lives and how even partially losing one can fundamentally alter a person's existence. Times Bks, 2002, 271 p., hardcover, $24,00.