I Contain Multitudes, Ed Yong
I Contain Multitudes, Ed Yong
11 Rating(s)
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I Contain Multitudes
The Microbes Within Us and a Grander View of Life

Author: Ed Yong

Narrator: Charlie Anson

Unabridged: 9 hr 52 min

Format: Digital Audiobook Download

Publisher: HarperAudio

Published: 08/09/2016

Synopsis

New York Times BestsellerNew York Times Notable Book of 2016NPR Great Read of 2016Economist Best Books of 2016Brain Pickings Best Science Books of 2016Smithsonian Best Books about Science of 2016Science Friday Best Science Book of 2016A Mother Jones Notable Read of 2016A Bill Gates “Gates Notes” PickMPR Best Books of 2016Chicago Public Library Best of the Best Books of 2016 Minnesota Star-Tribune Best of the YearA Kirkus Best Book of the YearA PW Best Book of the Year Guardian Best of the YearTimes (London) Best of the YearJoining the ranks of popular science classics like The Botany of Desire and The Selfish Gene, 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.

About Ed Yong

Ed Yong is a science writer who reports for The Atlantic. For his coverage of the COVID-19 pandemic, he won the Pulitzer Prize in explanatory reporting, the George Polk Award for science reporting, and other honors. His first book, I Contain Multitudes, was a New York Times bestseller. He is based in Washington, DC.

Reviews

Goodreads review by Will on February 02, 2022

You’ve got company. Carol Anne Freeling was certainly right when she said, “They’re hee-ur,” well maybe not enraged spirits, but there are certainly plenty of entities present to which we have paid insufficient attention. Maybe Regan MacNeil was closer to the mark in proclaiming “We are legion.”......more

Goodreads review by Always on July 29, 2020

I feel like this book really exemplifies what I want from a science book written for a mass audience. It made everything really accessible and easy to understand without sacrificing on providing details or explanations. It provides a lot of citations so I can go look up the specific research papers......more

Goodreads review by Mario the lone bookwolf on January 18, 2020

Inner values get, in this context, wholly new, trillion of dimensions. Like so many prejudices, those against microorganisms are stupid and shortsighted. The first associations are not symbiosis and better health but infection and disease because the negative image is over-represented. Hygiene and he......more

Goodreads review by David on November 19, 2016

This is a fascinating book about the microbes inside all of us, and inside other animals as well. Now, it is often said that there are ten times as many bacteria in our bodies as there are cells. This, it turns out, is probably an over-estimate; the number of bacteria is probably in the same ballpar......more

Goodreads review by Nina (ninjasbooks) on January 18, 2024

If you need to be reminded of how fascinating and beautiful our earth is, this book is for you. I haven’t invested much time in thinking about microbes, but discovered I was enthralled and mesmerized by these tiny creatures. It’s stunning how important they are and how they interact with us. I throu......more

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