Gray's Anatomy: The Classic Collector's Edition (edition 1977)

I found the JG Press copy of Grey's Anatomy a few years ago at a used book sale and could not put it down...obviously not in the way you can't put gripping fiction down, but in the sense that the drawings absolutely mesmerized me. I couldn't look away from it. Even the typeset fascinated me, as did the oddly calming (but definitely not boring!) effect the words had on me whenever I picked it up at night. "Phalanges," "sternum," occipital," even "longitudinal fissure" all sounded like poetry to me. It's kind of weird, because I don't do much medical reading, but I find the original Gray's Anatomy great bedtime reading... ( )

The classic edition of this text is a landmark edition, including 780 illustrations, and coving every aspect of human anatomy.

Of all the books on my shelf this one probably gets the most comment when it is noticed, usually implying what kinds of things I might be looking up in it.