March of the Microbes

Reviews / Votes

Traverse the eclectic landscapes of soil, champagne, a Yellowstone spring, Italian salad dressing, and even the human stomach with microbiologist John L. Ingraham as your guide. This remarkable tour will transform novices into keen microbe--watchers in a mere 300 pages--which sounds like a lot, until you realize how much ground there is to cover in humanity's relationship with our most minuscule "friends." For instance, it was microbes that transformed the entire face of our planet, via the "Oxygen Revolution" some 3 billion years ago. We have them to thank for literally every breath we take. This is but one example. With the Earth estimated to have a nonillion (that's one followed by 30 zeros) microbes in and around it, we might as well get to know our tiny neighbors. Seed 20100201 From the mundane (a smelly fish, a child with earache) to the exotic (hydrothermal vents), Ingraham presents the microbes behind so much of the world around us. He drives home the point that without these overlooked life forms we wouldn't be here at all...Ingraham's fresh perspective makes it an engaging read. -- Jo Marchant New Scientist 20100206 Though most people are only familiar with microbes that cause disease (germs, etc.), those "felonious" microbes actually constitute a tiny percent of all microbes, and just a single chapter in this fascinating survey of single-celled organisms and their role in shaping life on Earth...Among other processes, Ingraham explains how vaccines have been developed, frequently with the aid of other microbes; the carbon, nitrogen, and sulfur cycles which make life possible; and how microbes give us cheese, wine, and other foodstuffs (though some, like xanthan gum, readers not to know about). Ingraham also discusses recently-discovered microbes inhabiting extreme environments (hot, cold, salty, etc.) that promise to tell us much about the evolution of life on Earth and what life on other planets might look like. Ingraham's entertaining, breezy style makes even difficult topics accessible, and every chapter contains intriguing anecdotes about microbes in history (did the CIA try to poison Castro's cigars with botulinum toxin?). Highly readable, engrossing, and endlessly informative, this is a standout example of science writing for general audiences. Publishers Weekly online (starred review) 20100426