"We take an average of 7.5 million breaths a year and some 600 million in our lifetime, and what goes on in our body each time oxygen is taken in and carbon dioxide expelled is nothing short of miraculous. 'Our lungs are the lynchpin between our bodies and the outside world,' writes Dr. Michael J. Stephen. And yet, we take our lungs for granted until we're incapacitated and suddenly confronted with their vital importance. In Breath Taking, pulmonologist...

"No matter what you eat, how much you exercise, how resilient your genes are, how skinny or young or wise you are, none of it matters if you're not breathing properly. There is nothing more essential to our health and wellbeing than breathing: take air in, let it out, repeat 25,000 times a day. Yet, as a species, humans have lost the ability to breathe correctly, with grave consequences. Science journalist James Nestor travels the world to figure...