Allies and Enemies
How the World Depends on Bacteria
Bacteria: How they keep you alive. How they can kill you. How we can all live together happily.
Bacteria thrive on every surface of the earth. They recycle the Earth’s elements, create nutrition, clean up wastes, regulate the climate, and make water drinkable. They are invisible, mysterious, and essential organisms. And yet, we fear bacteria. Their food-poisoning capabilities, spreading of infectious diseases, indestructibility over centuries, and omnipresence throughout our planet lead us to overlook the benefits of bacteria and focus on the damage they cause.
Microbiologist Anne Maczulak seeks to improve the public image of bacteria in her book, Allies and Enemies. It tells the story of the partnership between humans and bacteria and explores fascinating ways in which bacteria have changed human history. Though Earth’s bacteria sometimes cause us harm and can even be deadly, we simply cannot live without these microbes.
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Hardcover | 224pg | FT Press | July 22, 2010 | ISBN10: 0137015461 | ISBN13: 9780137015467
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