WE MAY not be able to see them with the naked eye, but we can see 鈥� and hear, smell, feel and touch 鈥� the effects of micro-organisms all around us. That鈥檚 the premise of John Ingraham, who has written this introduction to bacteria, fungi and other microscopic life forms as a field guide for 鈥渕icrobe watchers鈥�.
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鈥檛 be here at all.
The bacterium Psychromonas ingrahamii, current record-holder for growing at the lowest temperature, is testament to the author鈥檚 academic credentials. March of the Microbes does feel at times like a thinly disguised textbook, but Ingraham鈥檚 fresh perspective makes it an engaging read nonetheless.
Advertisement
Harvard University Press