Customer Reviews

The Five-Second Rule and Other Myths About Germs: What Everyone Should Know About Bacteria, Viruses, Mold, and Mildew

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From the title, one may assume that myths about germs comprise this book's main theme. In fact, there is much more that awaits the reader. This book can be viewed as a short course on microbiology aimed at the general public. It covers the nature, habitats and important characteristics of what we call germs, i.e., bacteria, viruses, fungi, molds, spores, etc. Prominent in the book is the matter of staying healthy; thus, recommendations are made on avoiding contact with unhealthy germs and decontaminating our bodies and our personal environments as efficiently as possible. After reading about how dangerous and numerous many of these germs are and knowing how filthy human living conditions have been during certain periods in history, one cannot help but wonder at how humans could still be around. Nevertheless, here we are. The writing style is authoritative yet quite accessible; though I found some passages to be a bit dry. Although I felt that the author was a bit overly cautious in her constant emphasis on rigorous cleanliness, I do agree that the book dispels many myths about germs. This book can be enjoyed by anyone, although readers who tend to be a bit germ-phobic may become even more so as they read this book.

I got this book at the library and was very disappointed. Yes, it has introductory information on microbiology but the illustrations were poor and the advice was very basic and limited. I couldn't find any mention of UV disinfection, for example.

I was curious about this book because it promised to disabuse us of myths we were taught about bacteria, viruses, etc. However, it's unclear how she comes to even her own statement of 'fact,' one way or another, because she rarely provides any references, assuming the reader will simply take her on her word. I'm not suggesting she write a dry academic book, but a simple reference to a study in the text would go a long way (for example, "in 1997 researchers at Princeton (Pinel, 1997) studied how long bacteria survived if exposed to certain temperatures... they discovered that when the temperature X was reached, only % survived.).

I'm just saying, don't say you're going to bust myths, then replace them with your own.

Despite the entertaining title, this book was quite not entertaining. It was a basic microbiology college course simplified for the lay person. It was presented in a scattered way like a huge college textbook condensed down for reading straight though. It didn't tell a story. On the plus side, the book was informative and generally accurate. It just wasn't as fun as the upside down ice cream cone would lead you to believe.