I Contain Multitudes
The Microbes Within Us and a Grander View of Life
Ratings32
Average rating4.2
15
The Microbes Within Us and a Grander View of Life
Ratings32
Average rating4.2
New York Times Bestseller New York Times Notable Book of 2016 • NPR Great Read of 2016 • Named a Best Book of 2016 by The Economist, Smithsonian, NPR's Science Friday, MPR, Minnesota Star Tribune, Kirkus Reviews, Publishers Weekly, The Guardian, Times (London) From Pulitzer Prize winner Ed Yong, a groundbreaking, wondrously informative, and vastly entertaining examination of the most significant revolution in biology since Darwin—a “microbe’s-eye view” of the world that reveals a marvelous, radically reconceived picture of life on earth. Every animal, whether human, squid, or wasp, is home to millions of bacteria and other microbes. Pulitzer Prize-winning author Ed Yong, whose humor is as evident as his erudition, prompts us to look at ourselves and our animal companions in a new light—less as individuals and more as the interconnected, interdependent multitudes we assuredly are. The microbes in our bodies are part of our immune systems and protect us from disease. In the deep oceans, mysterious creatures without mouths or guts depend on microbes for all their energy. Bacteria provide squid with invisibility cloaks, help beetles to bring down forests, and allow worms to cause diseases that afflict millions of people. Many people think of microbes as germs to be eradicated, but those that live with us—the microbiome—build our bodies, protect our health, shape our identities, and grant us incredible abilities. In this astonishing book, Ed Yong takes us on a grand tour through our microbial partners, and introduces us to the scientists on the front lines of discovery. It will change both our view of nature and our sense of where we belong in it.
Reviews with the most likes.
An interesting book about an unknown world. The writing is lively, understandable, sometimes funny and a little bit silly.
I would say this is an averagely enjoyable read for me. I found it hard to get through mostly because of the inundation of species names. I enjoyed the topic and when I could get on a roll I could cover a chapter in a sitting but this book took a long time to get through. If you are not at least slightly interested in the topic I would say it is a bit too much for a casual read through.
Fun topic though and I now can't help but look at things differently.
If you're interested in learning more broadly about the microbiome and symbionts in nature (not just humans), start here. Ed Yong has a way of telling the story with an engagement that feels like he's having a blast; the reader is along for the ride. I thoroughly enjoyed this, and it's always a good sign when there's at least an inch worth of end notes/bibliography.
If I had taken a pretest on what I knew about microbes before I read this book, I wouldn't have been able to say much. I would say that most microbes I knew about were bad, destructive if not controlled in humans. I would say that I'd heard a bit of fuss about a few good microbes, most of which were involved in human digestion. And that's about it.
I didn't know much about microbes before I read this book, and most of what I knew (or thought I knew) was wrong.
What I learned from this book (and please correct me in the comments if I am saying this wrong) is that microbes work with living animals and plants in lots of different ways and in all or almost all living animals and plants. Microbes do things for the animals and plants that the animals and plants can't do for themselves, and, in return, the animals and plants do things for the microbes that they can't do for themselves. Each living animal and plant is an enormous ecosystem composed of millions of interactions between microbes and each living thing. Wiping out microbes in living things can also destroy the living things themselves.
Ed Yong's book is full of specific examples of corals and squids and mosquitoes and more and their interactions with specific microbes that live with these living things, and every story is told with cleverness and humor.
I'm no scientist, but I listened to this audiobook avidly and I found it wildly compelling.
