Every year, the Los Angeles Times Festival of Books becomes livelier and brighter due to the growing number of attendees. From book lovers, casual readers, and literary collectors to authors and publishers, people gathered to celebrate literacy.
The largest book festival in the US opened its doors last April for a glamorous two-day weekend celebration with the bookworms. Held at the University of Southern California, many book enthusiasts, book lovers, and book collectors, as well as writers, established authors, and many more, attended the free event.
A lot of bookfair-goers went by the Citi of Books booth to check for their next read and potential favorite book. One of the books that were chosen is “Our Human Odyssey: Becoming Female and Male” by Ramón Piñón Jr. It was displayed on April 20th and 21st at the Los Angeles Times Festival of Books at the University of Southern California.
Ramón Piñón, Jr. retired from the University of California, San Diego (UCSD) after 36 years of teaching and research. He taught a wide variety of classes spanning a broad area of modern biology, developed the first human reproduction course in the UCSD Biology department in 1973, and taught it for many years. Out of that experience came his textbook, Biology of Human Reproduction, published by University Science Books in 2002. The transformation of his textbook into a form more suitable for the lay reader has led to his latest books, Our Human Odyssey: Becoming Female and Male, which focuses on the biological aspects of our reproductive system, and Friction and Fantasy: Opening Pandora’s Jar, a historical and scientific exploration of human sexuality.
This book, “Our Human Odyssey: Becoming Female and Male,” takes you on a journey through the fascinating biology of human reproduction. It explores topics not usually well-known, explained alongside historical and cultural perspectives. The book starts with the intricate processes of sperm and egg formation, then follows development from fetus to adulthood, including puberty and the aging of our reproductive systems. It delves into fertilization, birth, and even the link between our pre-birth environment and adult health. You’ll also learn about miscarriage, birth defects, birth control options, infertility causes, and even new technologies in assisted reproduction. To top it off, the book includes appendices with in-depth details on sex chromosomes, mutations, hormones, and conditions related to sexual development.
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