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Very Short Introductions #352
Bacteria: A Very Short Introduction
Bacteria form a fundamental branch of life. They are the oldest forms of life and the most prolific of all living organisms, inhabiting every part of the Earth's surface, its ocean depths, and even such inhospitable places as boiling hot springs. In this Very Short Introduction, bacteriologist Sebastian Amyes explores the nature of bacteria, their origin and evolution, bacteria in the environment, and bacteria and disease. Amyes discusses some of the major infections caused by bacteria-bacteria causes pneumonia, diphtheria, cholera, and many other diseases-and shows how these pathogens avoid the defences of the human body. But the book looks at all aspects of bacteria, not just the negative side, stressing the key benefits of bacteria, which have been harnessed to preserve food, dispose of waste and to provide compost for horticulture. Indeed, life for man and for many animals would be impossible without bacteria. Amyes also offers a glance into the future, describing how bacteria might be manipulated to perform tasks that they previous were unable to perform and discussing the recent construction of a completely synthetic bacterial cell.
About the Series:
Oxford's Very Short Introductions series offers concise and original introductions to a wide range of subjects--from Islam to Sociology, Politics to Classics, Literary Theory to History, and Archaeology to the Bible. Not simply a textbook of definitions, each volume in this series provides trenchant and provocative--yet always balanced and complete--discussions of the central issues in a given discipline or field. Every Very Short Introduction gives a readable evolution of the subject in question, demonstrating how the subject has developed and how it has influenced society. Eventually, the series will encompass every major academic discipline, offering all students an accessible and abundant reference library. Whatever the area of study that one deems important or appealing, whatever the topic that fascinates the general reader, the Very Short Introductions series has a handy and affordable guide that will likely prove indispensable.
About the Series:
Oxford's Very Short Introductions series offers concise and original introductions to a wide range of subjects--from Islam to Sociology, Politics to Classics, Literary Theory to History, and Archaeology to the Bible. Not simply a textbook of definitions, each volume in this series provides trenchant and provocative--yet always balanced and complete--discussions of the central issues in a given discipline or field. Every Very Short Introduction gives a readable evolution of the subject in question, demonstrating how the subject has developed and how it has influenced society. Eventually, the series will encompass every major academic discipline, offering all students an accessible and abundant reference library. Whatever the area of study that one deems important or appealing, whatever the topic that fascinates the general reader, the Very Short Introductions series has a handy and affordable guide that will likely prove indispensable.
139 pages, Paperback
First published May 30, 2013
40 people are currently reading
554 people want to read
About the author
Sebastian G.B. Amyes
6 books1 followerSebastian G. B. Amyes is Professor of Microbial Chemotherapy at the University of Edinburgh, Scotland.
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Displaying 1 - 26 of 26 reviews
September 7, 2022
As its title promises, Bacteria: A Very Short Introduction was a decent cursory dive into the topic.
Author Sebastian G.B. Amyes is Professor of Microbial Chemotherapy at the University of Edinburgh, Scotland.
I've read quite a few titles in the "Very Short Introduction" series, and I generally enjoy their content.
In familiar form for a book in this series, Amyes writes in a clear, concise, matter-of-fact manner that should have no trouble holding the reader's attention.
As its title implies; many things "bacteria" are talked about briefly here. The author opens the book with a preface and a bit of background info on bacteria. DNA and RNA are mentioned, as is the RNA world hypothesis.
Some more of what is covered here includes:
• Bacteria and their place in the world
• Bacteria and the evolution of Man
• Bacteria and the evolution of herbivores
• Bacteria and the evolution of complex organisms
• Microbiomes of the skin
• Microbiota and microbiome of the gut and human evolution
• Probiotics and faecal transplants
• Animal decomposition
• Composting
• Pathogenic bacteria; Yersinia Pestis (responsible for the Black Plague), Legionella (responsible for Legionnaires' disease),
• Flesh-eating bacteria, Cholera, Leprosy and Tuberculosis,
• Bacterial toxins as weapons
• Antibiotics
• Antibiotic resistance
• Genetically modified bacteria
• Synthetic bacteria
*************************
Bacteria: A Very Short Introduction was a good primer on the topic.
4 stars.
Author Sebastian G.B. Amyes is Professor of Microbial Chemotherapy at the University of Edinburgh, Scotland.
I've read quite a few titles in the "Very Short Introduction" series, and I generally enjoy their content.
In familiar form for a book in this series, Amyes writes in a clear, concise, matter-of-fact manner that should have no trouble holding the reader's attention.
As its title implies; many things "bacteria" are talked about briefly here. The author opens the book with a preface and a bit of background info on bacteria. DNA and RNA are mentioned, as is the RNA world hypothesis.
Some more of what is covered here includes:
• Bacteria and their place in the world
• Bacteria and the evolution of Man
• Bacteria and the evolution of herbivores
• Bacteria and the evolution of complex organisms
• Microbiomes of the skin
• Microbiota and microbiome of the gut and human evolution
• Probiotics and faecal transplants
• Animal decomposition
• Composting
• Pathogenic bacteria; Yersinia Pestis (responsible for the Black Plague), Legionella (responsible for Legionnaires' disease),
• Flesh-eating bacteria, Cholera, Leprosy and Tuberculosis,
• Bacterial toxins as weapons
• Antibiotics
• Antibiotic resistance
• Genetically modified bacteria
• Synthetic bacteria
*************************
Bacteria: A Very Short Introduction was a good primer on the topic.
4 stars.
June 2, 2018
My high school and college biology classes are quite a few years in the past. So when I started reading Dr. Doudna’s book A Crack in Creation, I needed an update an refresher about bacteria.
My great niece has the fatal disease Cystic Fibrosis, and the greatest hope for a cure at the moment can be found in the science of gene editing. A Crack in Creation is about this new process and the dream of a cure for CF and other genetic diseases. As I was reading this work, I found myself a bit lost by my lack of basic knowledge, so I decided to educate myself in order to appreciate the book.
Bacteria: A Very Short Introduction was a very helpful update and refresher to my huge gap in knowledge. There were a few times that I did have to go to Google to learn or understand more about a term or concept used, but all in all, this book is excellent.
My great niece has the fatal disease Cystic Fibrosis, and the greatest hope for a cure at the moment can be found in the science of gene editing. A Crack in Creation is about this new process and the dream of a cure for CF and other genetic diseases. As I was reading this work, I found myself a bit lost by my lack of basic knowledge, so I decided to educate myself in order to appreciate the book.
Bacteria: A Very Short Introduction was a very helpful update and refresher to my huge gap in knowledge. There were a few times that I did have to go to Google to learn or understand more about a term or concept used, but all in all, this book is excellent.
Read
September 2, 2022Evolution is cool cus it has no teleology. Bacteria don’t want to do anything, they just reproduce their genetic material or they don’t. The ones that reproduce pass their genetic materials to the next generations, while those that don’t, don’t. Alright.
July 12, 2021
In italics are items I've sourced from the book.
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|- 4.5 billion years ago: Earth formed
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|- 4 billion years ago
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|- 3.5 billion years ago: Anaerobic bacteria first appeared around now. AGE OF BACTERIA COMMENCES
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|- 3.2 billion years ago: photosynthetic bacteria first appear
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|- 3 billion years ago
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|- 2 billion years ago
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|- 1 billion years ago
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|- 500 million years ago: Cambrian explosion.
|- 400 million years ago: mass extinction somewhere in here
|- 300 million years ago: oh another mass extinction event somewhere in here
|- 200 million years ago: yep, another one. Dinosaurs first appear.
|- 100 million years ago
|= Now. Somewhere between the last point and here we've had dinosaurs die, mammals rise, a few ice ages, man appeared 300,000 years ago. AGE OF BACTERIA CONTINUES
For comparison, let's take the same number of increments (but make them decades) and start from the year 1550. The following information in italics comes from the book at hand, with direct quotations where indicated.
|- 1550
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|- 1600
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|- 1650
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|- 1670: In 1676 the first bacteria observed under magnifying lens
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|- 1700
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|- 1750
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|- 1800
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|- 1850
|- 1860: The publishing in 1861 Pasteur's theory of disease.
|- 1870: Theory of germs broadly accepted as bacteria being pathogenic.
|- 1880: 1881 Koch's postulates form a framework for determining whether singular bacterial types cause a given infection. 1885 E coli discovered.
|- 1890: bacterial infection most common cause of premature death
|- 1900
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|- 1920: In 1929 Alexander Fleming published findings that a fungus, Penicillium notatum, has antibacterial properties.
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|- 1940: A man was first treated with penicillin in 1941. Much research into naturally occurring antibiotics, most were toxic to humans.
|- 1950
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|- 1970: By about now, all naturally occurring antibiotics that have ever been discovered were already identified.
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|- 2000
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|- 2020: Gaining antibiotic resistant strains of bacteria, particularly in hospitals. The author suggests we will need to modify safety standards for acceptable antibiotic use. "While there is no shortage of antibacterial compounds, the vast majority of them would fail current safety standards," he says, noting that, in contrast, chemotherapy patients are effectively given toxic agents, so perhaps we will need to accept this for bacterial infections in future. Bacteria are good at spreading around their genes, and thus antibiotic resistance is shared. "During the first forty years of antibiotic use, resistance was a problem but not sufficient to force the removal of individual antibiotics from clinical use. Multi-resistance emerged as a major problem in the 1980s with MRSA and was quickly followed by other bacteria that became resistant to most antibiotics. At that time, a greater demand was being made on antibiotics; previously they had primarily been used to treat acute infections that were finally resolved by the patient’s immune system. The era of transplantation and aggressive cancer treatments causing neutropenia has meant that antibiotics have been used in patients with suppressed immune systems". Antibiotic resistance is gaining, and we've had these so briefly.
While I thoroughly enjoyed most of this book, the final chapter suddenly became incredibly densely technical. It did not seem to fit the rest of the book.
|
|
|- 4.5 billion years ago: Earth formed
|
|
|
|
|- 4 billion years ago
|
|
|
|
|- 3.5 billion years ago: Anaerobic bacteria first appeared around now. AGE OF BACTERIA COMMENCES
|
|
|- 3.2 billion years ago: photosynthetic bacteria first appear
|
|- 3 billion years ago
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|- 2 billion years ago
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|- 1 billion years ago
|
|
|
|
|- 500 million years ago: Cambrian explosion.
|- 400 million years ago: mass extinction somewhere in here
|- 300 million years ago: oh another mass extinction event somewhere in here
|- 200 million years ago: yep, another one. Dinosaurs first appear.
|- 100 million years ago
|= Now. Somewhere between the last point and here we've had dinosaurs die, mammals rise, a few ice ages, man appeared 300,000 years ago. AGE OF BACTERIA CONTINUES
For comparison, let's take the same number of increments (but make them decades) and start from the year 1550. The following information in italics comes from the book at hand, with direct quotations where indicated.
|- 1550
|
|
|
|
|- 1600
|
|
|
|
|
|- 1650
|
|- 1670: In 1676 the first bacteria observed under magnifying lens
|
|
|- 1700
|
|
|
|
|- 1750
|
|
|
|
|- 1800
|
|
|
|
|- 1850
|- 1860: The publishing in 1861 Pasteur's theory of disease.
|- 1870: Theory of germs broadly accepted as bacteria being pathogenic.
|- 1880: 1881 Koch's postulates form a framework for determining whether singular bacterial types cause a given infection. 1885 E coli discovered.
|- 1890: bacterial infection most common cause of premature death
|- 1900
|
|- 1920: In 1929 Alexander Fleming published findings that a fungus, Penicillium notatum, has antibacterial properties.
|
|- 1940: A man was first treated with penicillin in 1941. Much research into naturally occurring antibiotics, most were toxic to humans.
|- 1950
|
|- 1970: By about now, all naturally occurring antibiotics that have ever been discovered were already identified.
|
|
|- 2000
|-
|- 2020: Gaining antibiotic resistant strains of bacteria, particularly in hospitals. The author suggests we will need to modify safety standards for acceptable antibiotic use. "While there is no shortage of antibacterial compounds, the vast majority of them would fail current safety standards," he says, noting that, in contrast, chemotherapy patients are effectively given toxic agents, so perhaps we will need to accept this for bacterial infections in future. Bacteria are good at spreading around their genes, and thus antibiotic resistance is shared. "During the first forty years of antibiotic use, resistance was a problem but not sufficient to force the removal of individual antibiotics from clinical use. Multi-resistance emerged as a major problem in the 1980s with MRSA and was quickly followed by other bacteria that became resistant to most antibiotics. At that time, a greater demand was being made on antibiotics; previously they had primarily been used to treat acute infections that were finally resolved by the patient’s immune system. The era of transplantation and aggressive cancer treatments causing neutropenia has meant that antibiotics have been used in patients with suppressed immune systems". Antibiotic resistance is gaining, and we've had these so briefly.
While I thoroughly enjoyed most of this book, the final chapter suddenly became incredibly densely technical. It did not seem to fit the rest of the book.
May 9, 2024
معرفة البكتريا بشكل عام من البداية الى النهاية
April 19, 2023
Very Interesting and well written.
December 19, 2016
Pretty amazing book if you want some extensive knowledge on bacteria(clues in the name). A bit difficult to understand at some points because of the sheer amount of jargon but definitely worth a read if you're into this kind of stuff.
April 13, 2019
A very brief and short summary of the most important information regarding bacteria. Great intro.
September 2, 2023
"Bacteria: A Very Short Introduction" delivers a concise overview of the fascinating world of bacteria, shedding light on their role in shaping our planet and influencing various aspects of life. The author's ability to distill complex scientific concepts into easily digestible information is commendable, making this book a suitable starting point for readers seeking a basic understanding of the subject.
However, while the book offers a wealth of information, it falls short in engaging the reader on a deeper level. The writing style, although informative, lacks the enthusiasm and passion that could have truly brought the subject to life. Additionally, some sections seem to lack cohesion, leading to occasional confusion for readers who may not have a strong background in microbiology.
In spite of these shortcomings, "Bacteria: A Very Short Introduction" serves its purpose by delivering essential knowledge about bacteria's significance in the natural world and their impact on human life. Those seeking a quick primer on the topic will find value in its pages, even if the writing style leaves a bit to be desired in terms of capturing the reader's interest.
However, while the book offers a wealth of information, it falls short in engaging the reader on a deeper level. The writing style, although informative, lacks the enthusiasm and passion that could have truly brought the subject to life. Additionally, some sections seem to lack cohesion, leading to occasional confusion for readers who may not have a strong background in microbiology.
In spite of these shortcomings, "Bacteria: A Very Short Introduction" serves its purpose by delivering essential knowledge about bacteria's significance in the natural world and their impact on human life. Those seeking a quick primer on the topic will find value in its pages, even if the writing style leaves a bit to be desired in terms of capturing the reader's interest.
Read
December 30, 2022Generally interesting and containing reasonable depth on varying topics. Nice background history and inclusion of stories about certain people, events and beliefs. Some chapters felt broken up and without a main train of thought. The language and biological terms used were complicated and used throughout. The later half seemed to include further challenging vocabulary, bacteria terms and names which were unknown to me. Maybe one or two of these terms, together with a description and explanation, I could manage, but I struggled through these parts including complex vocabulary.
March 15, 2020
A quick read and quite a good summary. Penulisannya kaya orang bikin laporan, ga pake basa-basi dan ga sempurna, bukan masterpis jurnalistik. Tapi entah kenapa malah jadi relatable. Berasa penulis mencurahkan semua yg ada di otak dia dalam satu napas trus kek mikir-mikir hm ini gimana ngeorganisirnya ya, gitu wk. Cukup rekomen buat anak-anak mikro yang butuh penyegar.
December 25, 2020
The first VSI book I’ve read
I heard about this series of books recently and wanted to try one of them. I liked this intro to bacteria, but I see this book as more of a reference to learn more about specific topics than just a stand alone book. Don’t let my rating fool you: it was good, I just don’t think I knew enough to get a lot out of the book.
I heard about this series of books recently and wanted to try one of them. I liked this intro to bacteria, but I see this book as more of a reference to learn more about specific topics than just a stand alone book. Don’t let my rating fool you: it was good, I just don’t think I knew enough to get a lot out of the book.
December 9, 2017
Chapter 1: Origins
Chapter 2: Evolution
Chapter 3: Discovery
Chapter 4: Environment and civilization
Chapter 5: Bacterial pathogenesis
Chapter 6: Antiobiotics
Chapter 7: Antibiotic resistance
Chapter 8: The future
Chapter 2: Evolution
Chapter 3: Discovery
Chapter 4: Environment and civilization
Chapter 5: Bacterial pathogenesis
Chapter 6: Antiobiotics
Chapter 7: Antibiotic resistance
Chapter 8: The future
January 3, 2026
Interesting, though it got a bit dense near the end and there were a few places where the author injected opinion instead of science. (Such as a recommendation about lowering the bar for risk tolerance in hospital settings for some antibiotic-resistant bacteria.)
March 28, 2019
I am very, very terrified right now
May 27, 2019
An interesting overview of bacteria but the scientific terms became heavy throughout the last two chapters.
February 13, 2021
A good introduction up until about page 90, at which point the author seems to forget the target audience and dives into jargon that probably requires a biology degree to follow and understand.
February 21, 2023
Welp, this is probably how the world ends.
March 25, 2023
A good overview of what most will learn in a basic microbiology college course.
September 27, 2023
i love microbiota!!!!🦠🧫
July 10, 2025
Was a good refresh
November 29, 2023
Quite well written science book. Good solid development, strong scaffolding to make sure you are following along. Good strong research and referencing to support the facts, without burying the reader in footnotes.
Starts with strong basics and works it way up to fairly advanced concepts in a way that is not overwhelming or condescending.
I enjoy any and all well written science books and this was one of my recent favorites
Starts with strong basics and works it way up to fairly advanced concepts in a way that is not overwhelming or condescending.
I enjoy any and all well written science books and this was one of my recent favorites
June 27, 2018
Disappointing compared to other VSIs: mediocre plodding writing, with continual irritating uses of "Man" when "human" would be better style (as well as more accurate) as in "It is relevant to ask why bacteria became pathogenic to Man".
August 14, 2013
Most of us recoil at the thought of bacteria. Ever since they have been discovered and identified as the cause of many communicable and potentially deadly diseases, they have earned a permanently grim place in our collective imagination. However, the vast majority of bacteria are innocuous, or even beneficial for our existence. We would literally starve to death were it not for all those wonderful bacteria that inhabit our digestive system and help in digestion.
This very short introduction takes a closer look at bacteria. The book covers their basic biological structure, evolutionary origin and development, as well as their epidemiological aspects. In fact, the greatest amount of space in this book is dedicated precisely to the medical and epidemiological aspects of bacteria. This book finally clarified for me what the antibiotics are, and it dispelled several myths about some bacteria that have caused major havoc either recently or throughout human history. (The so-called “flash eating bacteria” and the bubonic plague are two examples.) This focus on medicine and epidemiology is understandable – that’s probably what most people who are interested in this topic would want to learn more about anyways. However, I would have personally liked to learn more about the biochemistry of bacteria and all the insights into how they manage to do the basic functions of life. After all, bacteria are the simplest and most primitive living cells, and they are a perfect source of information on what is life really, including the biggest question of them all: how did life begin?
This book is very well written and it is very lucid in its presentation. It doesn’t require much more background knowledge than what was picked up in regular biology classes. It is accessible to a wide variety of readers, and anyone interested in learning more about bacteria would benefit from reading it.
This very short introduction takes a closer look at bacteria. The book covers their basic biological structure, evolutionary origin and development, as well as their epidemiological aspects. In fact, the greatest amount of space in this book is dedicated precisely to the medical and epidemiological aspects of bacteria. This book finally clarified for me what the antibiotics are, and it dispelled several myths about some bacteria that have caused major havoc either recently or throughout human history. (The so-called “flash eating bacteria” and the bubonic plague are two examples.) This focus on medicine and epidemiology is understandable – that’s probably what most people who are interested in this topic would want to learn more about anyways. However, I would have personally liked to learn more about the biochemistry of bacteria and all the insights into how they manage to do the basic functions of life. After all, bacteria are the simplest and most primitive living cells, and they are a perfect source of information on what is life really, including the biggest question of them all: how did life begin?
This book is very well written and it is very lucid in its presentation. It doesn’t require much more background knowledge than what was picked up in regular biology classes. It is accessible to a wide variety of readers, and anyone interested in learning more about bacteria would benefit from reading it.
July 7, 2016
AIDS/HIV, SARS or H1N1 are viruses which capture most of the limelight while bacteria are conspicuously absent in today's newspapers. Our problem with bacteria is as bad as, if not worse than, viruses because their increasing antibiotic resistance means that our antibiotic drugs, i.e. our available ammunition against the bacteria, are running out . This is another man-made problem as bacteria merely respond to our drugs and select the best genes to survive.
This very short introduction is a good and informative introduction to such intriguing creatures. Although Amyes does occasionally fill his sentences and paragraphs with jargons, the book is generally accessible. Readers can know basic knowledge on antibiotic drugs and antibiotic resistance.
This very short introduction is a good and informative introduction to such intriguing creatures. Although Amyes does occasionally fill his sentences and paragraphs with jargons, the book is generally accessible. Readers can know basic knowledge on antibiotic drugs and antibiotic resistance.
Read
March 10, 2014shjyukuiloko;ol;o;
Displaying 1 - 26 of 26 reviews