The Invisible Kingdom: From the Tips of Our Fingers to the Tops of Our Trash, Inside the Curious World of Microbes [Hardcover]

Idan Ben-Barak (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: August 4, 2009

With the wit of Bill Bryson and the spirit of Natalie Angier, Idan Ben- Barak takes us on a fantastic voyage into the infinitesimal world of microbiology. In The Invisible Kingdom, he introduces us to the amazing lives and workings of genes, proteins, bacteria, and viruses, and the ways in which they interact to shape life on Earth. Exploring everything from radioactive waste and insect sex-change operations to the inner workings of antibiotics, Ben-Barak reveals how important these tiny critters are to all of us. He brings this largely unseen world to life with refreshing analogies and metaphors: cells “pop like bubbles” and bacteria “dream of rain.” On the journey, we learn about the teamwork required to rot human teeth, the origins of diseases, what really goes on inside cow stomachs, and the ways in which microbes benefit human life. An infectious and informative scientific exploration, The Invisible Kingdom will change the way we see the world around us.

Editorial Reviews

From Publishers Weekly

Starred Review. Ben-Barak (Small Wonders) writes with verve, enthusiasm and humor about critters that most people find frightening, repugnant, and worthy of mass slaughter via antibiotic hand sanitizer; in this illuminating book, Ben-Barak assures us that without them, "we'll all be dead within days, if not hours." Sure, they cause horrible diseases and turn food rotten, but microbes also clean up waste (including radioactive contamination, chemicals and plastics) and play an important role in digestion (humans have ten times more microbials than human cells). Flexing degrees in both microbiology and medical science, Australian-based scientist Ben-Barak covers a lot of territory, beginning with the origins of single-celled life, 3.8 billion years ago. Connecting the mechanisms of asexual reproduction used by single-celled bacteria to human sexual reproduction, he explains lucidly the mechanics of DNA and RNA, as well as the rapid mutation rate of new strains of germs, diseases and genuinely useful microbes used for thousands of years to make bread, beer, wine and yogurt, and more recently in the manufacturing of hormones. Wonderfully informative and entertaining, Ben-Barak's latest is a brilliant read for both general readers and science buffs.

Review

Booklist
“Fun facts are one attraction of Ben-Barak’s work, another is the importance the author accords to what microbes do to us. Perhaps readers will become furious hand washers after learning about the culpability of viruses and bacteria in diseases; perhaps they’ll be inspired by the possibilities of enlisting them to kill cancer or clean up pollution; certainly, they’ll be better informed by Ben-Barak’s entertaining approach.”

SEED
“…dotted with pub-worthy facts (two to four pounds of human body weight is made up of microbes) and playful footnotes that make for an accessible and amusing look at the hidden world of ubiquitous microscopic creatures like bacteria, archaea, protists, and viruses. Woven into the humor is a bona fide crash course in parasitology, microbiology, and gene transfer…”

Publishers Weekly (starred review)
“Wonderfully informative and entertaining, Ben-Barak's latest is a brilliant read for both general readers and science buffs.”

BoingBoing.net
“I enjoyed this lighthearted insider’s guide to germs… I'd love to shrink down to microscopic size to see some of the odd lifeforms described in this book.”  

See all Editorial Reviews

Product Details

• Hardcover: 216 pages
• Publisher: Basic Books (August 4, 2009)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0465018874
• ISBN-13: 978-0465018871
• Product Dimensions: 8.3 x 5.6 x 1 inches
• Shipping Weight: 11.2 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 3.4 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (7 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #548,331 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

More About the Author

Idan Ben-Barak was born in 1974 and lives in Melbourne, Australia with his wife and son. He holds degrees in medical science and microbiology, and is currently working towards a Ph.D. in the history and philosophy of science. His first book, Small Wonders: How Microbes Rule our World (published in the US as The Invisible Kingdom: from the tips of our fingers to the tops of our trash, inside the curious world of microbes) has won the 2010 American Association for the Advancement of Science (AAAS)/Subaru SB&F Prize for Excellence in Science Books. Back home in Australia it was shortlisted for the Science Writer's Award in the 2009 Queensland Premier's Literary Awards.

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

7 of 7 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Fascinating, informative, easy to read, and short, October 4, 2009

By 

Robert Ginsberg - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: The Invisible Kingdom: From the Tips of Our Fingers to the Tops of Our Trash, Inside the Curious World of Microbes (Hardcover)

This short introduction (only 192 pages plus a glossary) to the world of microbes is extremely well-written and remarkably easy to read. Without using technical language, Idan Ben-Barak conveys the variety and importance of the hidden but in some ways all-powerful world of bugs. As he notes in one typically startling passage, if we could wipe out all microbes, all life, including our own, would cease immediately. Ben-Barak covers genes, proteins, bacteria, fungi, and viruses and gives vivid examples of the role each of them plays in the biology of life, in health, in agriculture, in science, and in industry. We learn how microbes develop, how they cooperate, how they evolve, and how they control our bodies. It is remarkable that he can pack in so much information and still keep his story clear and enjoyable. (The writing is very lively and never dry or academic.) While this is a book for adults, I have to say it would make a remarkably good gift for any smart teenager who has an interest in health, in biology, or in science in general. Or of course, an interest in bugs!

1 of 1 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Great Overview of Microorganisms, August 16, 2011

By 

Science Teacher (Northern Utah) - See all my reviews

Amazon Verified Purchase

This review is from: The Invisible Kingdom: From the Tips of Our Fingers to the Tops of Our Trash, Inside the Curious World of Microbes (Hardcover)

I purchased this book because, as a part of our 6th grade science curriculum, we teach about microorganisms. I was very pleased with the book.

This is a great overview of microbes. The author combines history, examples, experiments, etc. in a very organized and readable way. Since this is a topic I teach, I've read a lot of books and have a good understanding of microorganisms. I learned new things that I will include in my teaching this year. This is one of the best books on microorganisms I've read.

I have purchased a copy of the book for all teachers who teach 6th grade science at my school. I can't give this book a stronger recommendation than this.

(The only reason I gave the book 4-stars is because there is no index.)

1 of 1 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Excellent Book!, August 8, 2011

By 

Jan S. - See all my reviews

This review is from: The Invisible Kingdom: From the Tips of Our Fingers to the Tops of Our Trash, Inside the Curious World of Microbes (Hardcover)

This is an excellent book for the non-scientific person to learn about the basics of microbes. I enjoyed reading it (and enjoyed the humorous attempts to make it palatable for a non-scientist) and learned a great deal about the characteristics, lives and unique features of various microbes. I read it to learn about bacteria, however, I now really appreciate many facets of bacteria, viruses, etc. Excellent book!