New York, NY : Ecco, an imprint of HarperCollins Publishers, 2016.
355 p. : col. ill. ; 24 cm.
I've been telling people about this book since I started reading it a couple weeks ago. It's a great read, introducing the lay reader (i.e me!) to a very broad, complex and contemporary field of scientific research - the microbiome. As Yong neatly lays out, the study of microorganisms really begins with Leeuwenhoek in the 1660s. Unfortunately, the study of microbes in the 19th and 20th century focused almost exclusively on the disease-causing pathogens - leading to the overuse of antibiotics and the obsession with trying to shield people from all microbes, instead of just bad effects of some.
What makes Yong's book so fascinating is how he gets the reader to rethink not only the us vs. them attitude toward microbes, but the entire notion that there is an us and a them when it comes to living in a world of microbes. He convincingly shows that almost all living creatures are the sum of the complex and intricate relationships between ourselves and the trillions of microbes that live within and without us and affect us for good and ill. Given that each of us contains trillions of microbes and could not function without them, it starts to dawn on the reader that not only does one contain multitudes, but perhaps one IS those multitudes.
The other achievement of Yong is to navigate both cover and convey the wide ranges of research and investigation into the microbiome - from the microbes that make deep sea life possible near hydrothermal vents, to attempts at reintroducing microbes into hospitals and public spaces with the goal of having healthy microbiomes instead of sterile environments.
Like Planet of Viruses, the book I read earlier this school year, this is a science book I'll be recommending.
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