Elentarri's Book Blog

TITLE:  I Contain Multitudes:  The Microbes Within Us and a Grander View of Life

AUTHOR:  ED YONG

DATE PUBLISHED:  2016

FORMAT:  Paperback

ISBN-13:  978-1-847-92418-6

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I Contain Multitudes is an enjoyable and informative book that takes a look at how microbes live, where microbes live and their interactions with other species, including humans.  This book contains many interesting scientific findings and microbial interactions - such as worms that don't have a mouth and don't need to eat; parasitic wasps with antibiotic antennae goo; viruses inside bacteria inside a bug; bacteria that influence which bugs get to breed; the effects of your microbial ecosystem in sickness and in health; as well as a whole lot of other fascinating stuff.

The author has a personable writing style without turning into a semi-biography.  He manages to explain scientific concepts without simplifying them too much or bogging the reader down with technical terminology.  The beginning of the book is a bit disjointed in terms of story telling, but then gets better as the author goes along.  I do wish Ed Yong had included more details about some of the topics discussed, but that was probably out of the scope for a popular science book like this.  This is one of the better popular science books on microbes I have come across in years.


Other Recommended Books about Tiny Critters:

- March of the Microbes: Sighting the Unseen by John L. Ingraham

- The Hidden Half of Nature: The Microbial Roots of Life and Health by David R. Montgomery

-  Missing Microbes by Martin J Blaser

- The Killers Within: The Deadly Rise Of Drug-Resistant Bacteria by Michael Shnayerson, Mark J. Plotkin

- Superbug: The Fatal Menace of MRSA by Maryn McKenna

- Spillover: Emerging Diseases, Animal Hosts, and the Future of Human Health by David Quammen

- Parasite Rex by Carl Zimmer

- The Wild Life of Our Bodies: Predators, Parasites, and Partners That Shape Who We Are Today by Rob Dunn

- This Is Your Brain on Parasites: How Tiny Creatures Manipulate Our Behavior and Shape Society by Kathleen McAuliffe

- Venomous: How Earth's Deadliest Creatures Mastered Biochemistry by Christie Wilcox