A potential crisis in human fertility is brewing. As societies become more affluent, they experience changes that have a dramatic impact on reproduction. As average family sizes fall, the selection pressure for high-fertility genes decreases; exacerbated by the IVF industry which allows infertility-linked genes to pass into the next generation. Male fertility rates are low, for many reasons including genetics and exposure to environmental toxins. So, a perfect storm of factors is contriving to drive fertility rates down at unprecedented rates. If we do not recognize the reality of our situation and react accordingly, an uncontrollable decline in population numbers is likely, which we'll be unable to reverse. This book will address, in a unique and multi-faceted way, how the consequences of modern life affects fertility, so that we can consider behavioural, social, medical and environmental changes which could reduce the severity of what is about to come.

ONE OF PEOPLE MAGAZINE'S BEST SUMMER READS 2022 5* 'A jaw-dropping memoir' - THE TELEGRAPH 'One of the maddest memoirs you'll read this year... a beautiful, warm, funny book.' -The Times 'A wholly absorbing page-turner that everyone will want to read. You should probably buy two.' -Kirkus Starred Review 'A riveting debut.' -People Magazine 'By turns hilarious, wrenching, and achingly tender.' -Susan Orlean, New York Times bestselling author 'A remarkable and wise book, two memoirs braided together with such tendresse that readers will come to believe the ironic title in earnest' -LA TIMES 'Riveting and hilariously funny' - The Times For most of her life, Chrysta Bilton was one member of a small, if dysfunctional, family of four. There was her sister, Kaitlyn, her hedonistic, glamorous, gay mum Debra, and Jeffrey, who Debra hand-picked, in an LA hairdressers, to be the father of her children. During Chrysta's unstable childhood, Debra struggled to keep the family afloat and Jeffrey wandered in and out of their lives. Then, in her twenties, Chrysta discovered that her father had secretly donated his sperm over 500 times - and that she had at least 35 other siblings. A Normal Family is a captivating coming-of-age memoir about Chrysta's reckoning with the secrets both parents had carefully kept from her. Heartfelt, warm and funny, it's a story of embracing the family we have, in all the forms we find it.

According to the United Nations, the number of people aged 60 years or over in the world is projected to be 1.4 billion in 2030 and 2.1 billion in 2050. Endocrinologists and other clinicians face the challenge of caring for the elderly. To do so, they need to incorporate geriatric principles into their clinical practice. Endocrinology of Aging: Clinical Aspects in Diagrams and Images presents chapters in a way that allows the reader to incorporate concepts and main facts of complex subjects in a visual way. As the global population becomes older, the need for a deeper understanding of geriatric pathology increases, and with it, the access to educational resources for the endocrinology and metabolism of aging.

The overturning of Roe v Wade makes the ethical consideration of abortion more important than ever. Appealing to reason rather than religious belief, this book is the most comprehensive case against the choice of abortion yet published. This third edition of The Ethics of Abortion critically evaluates all the major grounds for denying basic rights to fetal human beings, including the views of those who defend not only abortion but also post-birth abortion. It also provides several (non-theological) justifications for the conclusion that all human beings, including those in utero, should be respected as persons. This book also critiques the view that abortion is not wrong even if the human fetus is a person. The Ethics of Abortion examines hard cases for those who are prolife, such as abortion in cases of rape or in order to save the woman's life, as well as hard cases for defenders of abortion, such as sex selection abortion and the rationale for being "personally opposed" but publicly supportive of abortion. It concludes with a discussion of whether artificial wombs might end the abortion debate. Answering the arguments of defenders of abortion, this book provides reasoned justification for the view that all intentional abortions are ethically wrong and that doctors and nurses who object to abortion should not be forced to act against their consciences. Updates and Revisions to the Third Edition Include: Discusses Achas Burin's 2014 essay, "Beyond Pragmatism: Defending the 'Bright Line' of Birth" in chapter 3 Incorporates into chapter 8 David Boonin's cogently argued 2019 book, Beyond Roe: Why Abortion Should be Legal - Even if the Fetus is a Person Expands chapter 9 to examine tragic cases in which prenatal diagnosis determines with certainty that a fetus will die shortly after birth Includes an updated and expanded section in chapter 11 on recent debates about conscience protections Considers in chapter 12 recent arguments that parents have a right to kill if the product of conception is in an artificial womb Updates statistics on numbers of abortions in the United States, including corrections to statistics that were once thought true but are now known as erroneous Updated bibliography

Give yourself the best-possible odds for getting pregnant and having a baby with this concise, expert, and encouraging companion as your guide. In the only general guide to infertility written by a medical doctor who specializes in the subject, Mark Trolice, MD—who is board-certified in both OB/GYN and REI (Reproductive Endocrinology and Infertility)—shares the practical knowledge he has gained from working in infertility medicine for years, with many hundreds of patients, along with the warmth and wisdom he has acquired from getting to know prospective parents from all kind of backgrounds. The journey from infertility to fertility, from childlessness to a brand-new baby, can be long and arduous. It involves complicated medical diagnoses, a wide range of treatment options, a host of potential lifestyle changes, lots of emotional ups and downs, and—even with the best medical insurance—challenging financial decisions. Your doctors cannot decide everything for you, and that is why an authoritative and comprehensive book, written in clear and understandable language for the layperson, is essential. This is that book. The book opens with an exploration of all the possible causes of infertility, covering both couples who have never been pregnant and ones who have had recurrent losses of pregnancies. Unique among infertility guides, this volume gives roughly equal weight to male and female causes, which is important because about 40% of infertility cases are due to men's issues—and some couples need to address issues in both the prospective mother and prospective father. It covers endometriosis, fibroids, POS (Polycystic Ovarian Syndrome), tubal factor, male factor, and other possible causes. Next it looks at your treatment options. Importantly, these are not just medical interventions, but they also include lifestyle changes you alone can make, involving sleep, diet, exercise, and other forms of self-care. Among medical options, IUI (Intrauterine Insemination),  IVF (In Vitro Fertilization), and various surgical procedures are covered in detail. Some couples are lucky to have a short journey to fertility. For others, the process takes years. With a gentle and sure hand, and non-judgmentally, Dr. Trolice guides you through the many decisions you need to make along the way, such as whether or not to continue treatments, whether to change practitioners or treatments, and whether it is a good idea to continue to spend money on procedures not covered by your insurance. He understands that these are emotionally weighty decisions that involve the future of your family, and he provides ample grounds for optimism and hope, empowering you as you take this journey.

In Infertile Environments, Janelle Lamoreaux investigates how epigenetic research into the effects of toxic exposure conceptualizes and configures environments. Drawing on fieldwork in a Nanjing, China, toxicology lab that studies the influence of pesticides and other pollutants on male reproductive and developmental health, Lamoreaux shows how the lab's everyday research practices bring national, hormonal, dietary, maternal, and laboratory environments into being. She situates the lab's work within broader Chinese history as well as the contemporary cultural and political moment, in which declining fertility rates and reproductive governance and technology are growing concerns. She also points to how toxicology in China is a transnational endeavor tied to both local conditions and international research agendas and infrastructures, which highlights the myriad scales and scope of epigenetic environments. At a moment of growing concerns about toxins, endocrine-disrupting chemicals, and climate change, Lamoreaux demonstrates that epigenetic research's proliferation of environments produces new kinds of toxic relations that impact multiple generations of humans.

Understanding phytochemical-gene interactions provides the basis for individualized therapies to promote health as well as prevent and treat disease. The authors of Phytochemicals: Nutrient-Gene Interactions examine the interactions between phytochemicals and the human genome and discuss the impact these interactions have on health, aging, and chronic conditions such as inflammation, heart disease, obesity, type II diabetes mellitus, and cancer.

Keeping pace with the most important trends in phytochemical research, the authors accentuate the latest understanding on the use of controlled clinical trials, new screening technologies, and the completed human genome project for researching the pharmacokinetics, safety, and efficacy of phytochemicals. The book covers a balanced range of topics beginning with experimental strategies and methodologies for identifying significant interactions between diet, genetic variants, and different markers of cardiovascular disease, inflammation, and obesity. Different authors explain the mechanisms of protective action that link diets rich in omega-3 fatty acids, unsaturated fats, fruits, vegetables, and whole grains with a decreased risk of chronic and degenerative diseases. They also review and summarize epidemiological research on plant-based foods and dietary patterns supporting the beneficial role of phytochemicals in health promotion and disease prevention.

Phytochemicals: Nutrient-Gene Interactions illustrates the growing role of nutrigenomics and nutrigenetics in disease prevention and in the responsible development of safe and effective phytochemical products within the food, pharmaceutical, and supplement industries.

Drawing on diverse examples from literature, film, memoirs, and popular culture, Men, Masculinities, and Infertilities analyses cultural representations of male infertility. Going beyond the biomedical and sociological towards interdisciplinary cultural studies, this book studies depictions of men's infertility. It includes fictional representations alongside memoirs, newspaper articles, ethnographies and autoethnographies, and scientific reporting. Works under discussion range from twentieth-century novel Lady Chatterley's Lover to romantic comedy film Not Suitable For Children, and science fiction classic Mr Adam, as well as encompassing genres including blockbuster romance and memoir. Men, Masculinities, and Infertilities draws upon both sociological and popular culture research to trace how the discourse of cultural anxiety unfolds across disciplines. This engaging work will be of key interest to scholars of popular culture studies, gender and women's studies (including queer and sexuality studies), critical studies of men and masculinities, cultural studies, and literary studies. The Open Access version of this book, available at www.taylorfrancis.com, has been made available under a Creative Commons Attribution-Non Commercial-No Derivatives 4.0 license.

The Last Years of Long Lives is a unique account of that period of old age which precedes death. Based on 400 complete individual histories and covering a twenty-year period, it looks at the experiences of people over eighty years old in three important areas: disability, family life and health care. Using the life-course approach to research, it reveals rich data about the contributions of formal and informal care and how life expectancy and experiences of disability interact with experiences of care.

The reader is invited to conceptualise these phenomena as processes in continuous time - processes that are sometimes long and complex, sometimes short and simple - and learns about the four types of disability career before death. At the same time, the author presents a three-stage model of informal care and examines the main patterns of formal service use.

The Last Years of Long Lives presents a new way of looking at old age for students, researchers, practitioners and policy makers and gives a comprehensive picture of what has been called 'the fourth age'.

The examination for Membership of the Royal College of Obstetricians and Gynaecologists (MRCOG) remains one of the most internationally recognised postgraduate examinations in the specialty. Over the years, the examination has evolved in keeping with changes in medical education; the Part 3 examination now consists of 14 tasks, each covering one of the 14 core modules in the curriculum and assessing specific skills which may include all or some of Information Gathering, Communication with Patients and Families, Communication with Colleagues, Patient Safety, and Applied Clinical Knowledge. This invaluable resource consists of analyses of different aspects of what is being tested, with general advice on how to prepare for the examination and discussion of the reasons why trainees fail the examination. There follow four sample 'papers' of tasks; in each of them, attempts have been made to cover all 14 modules in the core curriculum. There is also an additional paper with random tasks to help with preparation.

Clinical Ethics at the Crossroads of Genetic and Reproductive Technologies offers thorough discussions on preconception carrier screening, genetic engineering and the use of CRISPR gene editing, mitochondrial gene replacement therapy, sex selection, predictive testing, secondary findings, embryo reduction and the moral status of the embryo, genetic enhancement, and the sharing of genetic data. Chapter contributions from leading bioethicists and clinicians encourage a global, holistic perspective on applied challenges and the moral questions relating the implementation of genetic reproductive technology. The book is an ideal resource for practitioners, regulators, lawmakers, clinical researchers, genetic counselors and graduate and medical students. As the Human Genome Project has triggered a technological revolution that has influenced nearly every field of medicine, including reproductive medicine, obstetrics, gynecology, andrology, prenatal genetic testing, and gene therapy, this book presents a timely resource.

This innovative and engaging book argues that because our genetic information is directly linked to the genetic information of others, it is impossible to assert a ‘right to privacy’ in the same way that we can in other areas of life. This position throws up questions around access to sensitive data. It suggests that we may have to abandon certain intuitions about who may access our genetic information; and it raises concerns about discrimination against people with certain genetic characteristics. But the author asserts that regulating access to genetic information requires a more nuanced perspective that does not rely on the familiar language of rights. The book proposes new ways in which we may think about who has access to what genetic information, and on what basis they do so. Conceptually challenging, the book will prove engaging reading for scholars and students interested in the area of bioethics and medical law, as well as policy makers working with these pressing issues.

Encyclopedia of Reproduction, Second Edition, Six Volume Set comprehensively reviews biology and abnormalities, also covering the most common diseases in humans, such as prostate and breast cancer, as well as normal developmental biology, including embryogenesis, gestation, birth and puberty. Each article provides a comprehensive overview of the selected topic to inform a broad spectrum of readers, from advanced undergraduate students, to research professionals. Chapters also explore the latest advances in cloning, stem cells, endocrinology, clinical reproductive medicine and genomics. As reproductive health is a fundamental component of an individual's overall health status and a central determinant of quality of life, this book provides the most extensive and authoritative reference within the field.

In Neurosis and Human Growth, Dr. Horney discusses the neurotic process as a special form of the human development, the antithesis of healthy growth. She unfolds the different stages of this situation, describing neurotic claims, the tyranny or inner dictates and the neurotic's solutions for relieving the tensions of conflict in such emotional attitudes as domination, self-effacement, dependency, or resignation. Throughout, she outlines with penetrating insight the forces that work for and against the person's realization of his or her potentialities. First Published in 1950. Routledge is an imprint of Taylor & Francis, an informa company.

Master the essentials of oral biology with patient-centered approach. New illustrations and discussions of emerging issues keep you updated with advances in the dental professions and patient care. Written by Daniel J. Chiego Jr., and Professor Sausan Al Kawas both are experienced educators and researchers in oral histology and embryology, this book provides the basic science you need to succeed in the classroom and in clinical practice.

Enhancing Fertility through Functional Medicine: Using Nutrigenomics to Solve 'Unexplained' Infertility provides cutting-edge information and solutions to help support the worldwide rise of fertility challenges. It addresses common, yet not commonly known, root-causes of oxidative stress that are at the heart of reproductive issues (and all chronic health issues). These solutions can help enhance the outcomes of Assisted Reproductive Technologies (ART) or support women to avoid them altogether. Enhancing Fertility through Functional Medicine: Using Nutrigenomics to Solve 'Unexplained' Infertility will show you how to improve cell health (including egg and sperm), lower inflammation, balance nervous system functioning, and optimize genetic expression, allowing the body to return to its naturally fertile state. It details information on numerous root causes of health-derailing inflammation and oxidative stress, while the appendices discuss the genetic and biochemical pathways related to these topics. Each chapter also provides easy "Action Steps" that can be implemented immediately. Chapter topics include iron dysregulation; oxalates; mold/mycotoxins; phase 2 liver detoxification pathways; fat utilization; introductory information on genetics, epigenetics, and nutrigenomics; everything one needs to know about histamine intolerance; and how these factors adversely affect metabolic and reproductive functions. Enhancing Fertility through Functional Medicine: Using Nutrigenomics to Solve 'Unexplained' Infertility is the handbook for people wanting to achieve and sustain a healthy pregnancy. It highlights lesser-known causes of fertility challenges the reader can learn how to investigate. This book also serves as a reference guide for practitioners, providing them with additional tools to add to their repertoires when other protocols have not been effective. It may also provide clarity as to why other protocols did not work, and will enable the practitioner to custom-tailor protocols for each patient.

The current popular and scientific interest in virtual environments has provided a new impetus for investigating binaural and spatial hearing. However, the many intriguing phenomena of spatial hearing have long made it an exciting area of scientific inquiry. Psychophysical and physiological investigations of spatial hearing seem to be converging on common explanations of underlying mechanisms. These understandings have in turn been incorporated into sophisticated yet mathematically tractable models of binaural interaction. Thus, binaural and spatial hearing is one of the few areas in which professionals are soon likely to find adequate physiological explanations of complex psychological phenomena that can be reasonably and usefully approximated by mathematical and physical models. This volume grew out of the Conference on Binaural and Spatial Hearing, a four-day event held at Wright-Patterson Air Force Base in response to rapid developments in binaural and spatial hearing research and technology. Meant to be more than just a proceedings, it presents chapters that are longer than typical proceedings papers and contain considerably more review material, including extensive bibliographies in many cases. Arranged into topical sections, the chapters represent major thrusts in the recent literature. The authors of the first chapter in each section have been encouraged to take a broad perspective and review the current state of literature. Subsequent chapters in each section tend to be somewhat more narrowly focused, and often emphasize the authors' own work. Thus, each section provides overview, background, and current research on a particular topic. This book is significant in that it reviews the important work during the past 10 to 15 years, and provides greater breadth and depth than most of the previous works.

Carefully delineating each step in the formation of the lung, Lung Growth and Development examines prenatal and postnatal lung development...the regulation of surfactant protein gene expression and models for the analysis of epithelial gene transcription and function...cellular differentiation and the role of mesenchymal cells...airway gland growth and differentiation...growth regulation in the tracheobronchial epithelium and mucociliary differentiation...embryonic precursors of the pulmonary nervous system and the development of lung innervation...Clara cells, airway smooth muscle development, cell interactions in vessel formation, and the surfactant system...respiratory distress syndrome, bronchopulmonary dysplasia, and compensatory lung growth...and more. Written by over 30 international experts, Lung Growth and Development is a practical guide for pulmonologists and pulmonary disease specialists, physiologists, molecular and cellular biologists, pathologists, neonatalogists and pediatricians, anatomists, pathologists, and graduate-level and medical school students in these disciplines.

There is renewed interest in lifestyle medicine - the focus on food, physical activity, stress management, high-quality connections, restorative sleep, and avoidance of toxic substances - in the prevention, treatment, and sometimes reversal of chronic disease, but very little information exists on its application for improving specific women's health issues across the lifespan. Consequently, there is a growing need among health professionals who care for women for a textbook that addresses evidence-based lifestyle solutions to manage the health challenges they face every day in their offices. This book begins with a review of the fundamentals of Lifestyle Medicine through the lens of a woman's lifespan. It provides information about lifestyle interventions to improve gynecologic and sexual health and to manage and sometimes reverse gynecologic diseases. It clarifies the importance of lifestyle and behaviors before and during pregnancy to address infertility, reduce adverse pregnancy outcomes, and to lower non-communicable diseases in children along with emerging epigenetic evidence. The use of Lifestyle Medicine to prevent and manage breast and gynecologic cancers, enhance health as part of cancer survivorship, and decrease the risk or reduce many of the symptoms and diseases experienced during menopause including vasomotor symptoms and osteoporosis are also discussed. Additionally, the text covers cardiovascular disease, diabetes, autoimmune disorders, dementia and mental health from the perspective of gender specific differences. This book provides practical resources on implementing the components of lifestyle medicine. Some of the topics covered include models of care for women and families, reimbursement, health coaching and behavioral change, community engagement and health equity for under-resourced settings. The electronic version of the book presents supplemental material featuring in-depth reading, as well as online and digital resources for implementing Lifestyle Medicine. The book is an evidence-based source of information on women's health issues for health professionals already practicing lifestyle medicine, as well as an entry level textbook for those new to the field of lifestyle medicine. The collective expertise of each of the editors along with content provided by leaders within the American College of Lifestyle Medicine fills a much-needed void within the specialty of Lifestyle Medicine and is for providers of women's health globally. Features: Provides a basic overview of Lifestyle Medicine (nutrient-rich diet, exercise, stress resilience, sleep, and high-quality connections) in the care of women across the lifespan. Provides lifestyle-focused treatment recommendations for specific women health issues. Includes strategies for implementing Lifestyle Medicine with vulnerable populations and in communities. Summarizes key points at the close of each chapter and includes supplemental material with in-depth reading. Features additional resources for implementing lifestyle medicine into practice. "This women's health book is evidence based and comprehensive. There is nothing like it. Women need up to date information about physical activity, nutrition, sleep, stress resilience, social connection and substance use. In addition, there is a desire to better understand the power of these pillars throughout a woman's life including pregnancy, menopause and the golden years. This book fills that need." Elizabeth Pegg Frates, MD, DipABLM, FACLM, President Elect of the American College of Lifestyle Medicine "Healthy aging begins at pre-conception. Evidence overwhelmingly shows that it's we women who-through our lifestyle behavior choices-can take far greater control of our own health destinies, as well as the health destinies of our children and generations to come. We cannot underestimate the power of what we eat, how we move, and what we think in regard to our optimal health or lack thereof. This book is a must-read for all medical professionals!" Susan Benigas, Executive Director of the American College of Lifestyle Medicine Lifestyle Medicine is the science of taking core principles and customizing how they're applied to each individual and each situation to achieve positive health behavior change. This book sets the evidence based foundation for how that process happens, and why it needs to happen, with the most important segment of health consumers - women. It is the next for all who are passionate about changing how health care is delivered." Wayne S. Dysinger, MD, MPH, Physician, Founder and Chair, Lifestyle Medical "Lifestyle factors have a powerful role in chronic disease prevention, underscoring the profound control we have over our health. Improving Women's Health Across the Lifespan applies lifestyle medicine to women's health, empowering women and their clinicians with the tools to transform their lives, and fostering a legacy of health for future generations." JoAnn E. Manson, MD, MPH, DrPH, Professor of Medicine and the Michael and Lee Bell Professor of Women's Health, Harvard Medical School Chief, Division of Preventive Medicine Brigham and Women's Hospital, Professor, Harvard Chan School of Public Health

This book brings together in one volume selected important topics in craniofacial growth. Topics include: principles of skeletal growth; osteogenesis and its control; formation of the cranial base and craniofacial joints; prenatal development of the facial skeleton; growth of the mandible, nasomaxillary complex, orbit, cranial base, ear capsule, and cranial vault; bone remodeling; muscles; soft tissues; and blood vessels.
Fundamentals of Craniofacial Growth contains detailed illustrations and extensive reference lists. Independently authored chapters provide comprehensive reviews encompassing both contemporary and historical perspectives. In addition to medicine and dentistry, contributors provide expertise from such diverse backgrounds as anatomy, biology, biomathematics, embryology, orthodontics, physical anthropology, and plastic and reconstructive surgery.

In Infertile Environments, Janelle Lamoreaux investigates how epigenetic research into the effects of toxic exposure conceptualizes and configures environments. Drawing on fieldwork in a Nanjing, China, toxicology lab that studies the influence of pesticides and other pollutants on male reproductive and developmental health, Lamoreaux shows how the lab's everyday research practices bring national, hormonal, dietary, maternal, and laboratory environments into being. She situates the lab's work within broader Chinese history as well as the contemporary cultural and political moment, in which declining fertility rates and reproductive governance and technology are growing concerns. She also points to how toxicology in China is a transnational endeavor tied to both local conditions and international research agendas and infrastructures, which highlights the myriad scales and scope of epigenetic environments. At a moment of growing concerns about toxins, endocrine-disrupting chemicals, and climate change, Lamoreaux demonstrates that epigenetic research's proliferation of environments produces new kinds of toxic relations that impact multiple generations of humans.

Since the early decades of the 20th century, the notion of the hormonally-constructed body has become the dominant mode of conceptualizing bodies, particularly female bodies, to such an extent that it is often assumed to be a natural phenomenon. This book challenges the idea that there is such a thing as a "natural" body and demonstrates that it is the process by which scientific claims achieve universal status that constructs such discourses as natural facts. The work tells the story of scientists' search for the many tons of ovaries, testes and urine that were required in experiments to develop the hormonal body concept. It traces the origins of sex hormones and follows their development through mass-production as drugs to their eventual transformation into the contraceptive pill.

This important volume brings together findings in the psychological and medical treatment of sex offenders. It disseminates research from experts around the world in the field of sex offender treatment, making this knowledge available to researchers and clinicians everywhere. Professionals struggling to find effective methods for treating their patients will find Sex Offender Treatment a valuable tool for their daily work. Chapters in Sex Offender Treatment cover a variety of topics. Authors examine such areas as psychodynamic and psychiatric disorders associated with the sex offender, findings on pharmacologic interventions, treatment techniques and the public perception of sex offender treatment, and cautionary notes for those who provide therapy for sex offenders.Within these areas, some specific themes addressed include: types of personality disorders and implications for more effective treatment the effectiveness of antiandrogen treatment and the promising results of other pharmacotherapies techniques for developing insight in incest perpetrators a study of adult male incest offenders'perceptions of the treatment process an adolescent treatment program using a family communication approach hypotheses regarding sexual offenders and men who batter, using psychodynamic and feminist theory Full of practical strategies and useful information, Sex Offender Treatment is a book professionals will reach for again and again.

Lizzie Stark takes readers on a witty, revealing and delightful journey through the natural and cultural history of the egg, exploring its deep symbolism, innumerable uses and metabolic importance in twelve dazzling specimens. From Mali to Finland, Stark looks at cultures that find the world's origins in an egg. Decorated by Ukrainians, an oracle for Greeks, the impetus behind gang wars and flown into space, the egg-whether of chickens, murres or ostriches-has taken on mythic proportions, all the while serving as a humble ingredient in fancy dishes. Stark even writes Jacques Pepin's biography through the lens of the egg dishes he served. Egg is also about Stark's fascination with this delicate ovoid-both her myriad attempts to create a perfect omelette and her fraught relationship to the ova in her body. Filled with colourful characters and fascinating morsels, Egg is a playful, informative and surprising history that guarantees you'll never take the egg for granted again.