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Where the Germs Are: A Scientific Safari
A guided tour through the strange and sometimes dangerous microscopic world Germs are everywhere—in our intestines and on our skin as well as on kitchen counters, public toilets, doorknobs, and just about everything else. Why are there so many microorganisms? Which ones are dangerous? And how can we avoid the ones that will make us sick? This entertaining and informative book provides the answers. Profiling a rogue's gallery of harmful germs—from the influenza virus, salmonella, and herpes to hepatitis, tuberculosis, and HIV—as well as helpful microbes (we actually need E. Coli and other bacteria for proper digestion), the book reveals how different germs interact with the human body and what happens when they do.
- GenresScienceNonfictionBiology
272 pages, Hardcover
First published January 1, 2003
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Displaying 1 - 11 of 11 reviews
July 12, 2019
Interesting and valuable information, well-presented
The photo on the cover somehow hints at the sometimes ironic expression within. The cover shows a fifties housewife in black heels, nylons, lipstick, a modest hairdo and a house dress covered by an apron mopping her kitchen floor. She is smiling with pride. Her squeaky-clean persona represents the germaphobe in all of us--a class of humanity to which I belong and to which science writer Bakalar has aimed his book. Her pleased sense that her sparkling kitchen is largely germ-free is of course a delusion. Read and be revolted!
As far as readability goes, this is the best general-information book on germs that I have read, and I have read several. What Bakalar does so very well is inform, period. He also has a witty and easy flowing style that makes the pages turn. He is a writer who loves to explain how the microbial world of disease works. He likes to turn away misconceptions and debunk urban myths without taking himself too seriously. He can be slyly funny as when he notes that house mice "are in general not a reservoir of serious human illness," but that "any restaurant that allows them to frolic in the presence of diners is likely to be out of business soon." Or when he identifies electrocuting insect traps that "may actually spread germs into the air" as "the kind that produce that satisfying buzz every time they kill a fly." (p. 197)
He can also be profound. Consider this from page 15: "Viruses, bacteria, archaea, prions, protozoa, and fungi all exist in nature. Disease does not. Disease is a human invention, not a phenomenon that exists out there apart from us." He adds that from the point of view of the disease agent, "the infection is merely life." And indeed, "From the point of view of some organisms, human beings themselves are a disease." He notes that tigers, for example, have a bad case of "humans."
One of the myths that he debunks that I had long believed was that the recycled air in passenger airplanes was a significant cause of disease. Turns out that in older airplanes such as DC-9s and 727s the air is not recycled at all but drawn entirely from outside the plane. In newer airplanes "half the cabin air is recirculated" but it is filtered better and refreshed more often than in office buildings. (pp. 209-210)
Chapter headings include The Contaminated Kitchen, Toilet Training, Kids and Microbes, Microbes and Your Sex Life, Pets and Their Germs, Water and What's in It, Germs in Public Places, etc. Bakalar ends the book with a chapter on products you can buy at the store that may or may not kill germs and improve your health. Naturally all sorts of ugly microbes make their appearance including plague, West Nile virus, smallpox, TB, cholera, etc. as well as some not so charming vectors: mice, rats, mosquitoes, ticks, bats, fleas, and their brethren, cockroaches, flies and things that creep in the night.
There is a 15-page glossary and there are footnotes arranged by chapter (a dense paragraph for each) at the back of the book that you can examine for further information. The notes are not subscripted nor referenced by page. I'm not sure I like this but it does unclutter the text.
--Dennis Littrell, author of “The World Is Not as We Think It Is”
The photo on the cover somehow hints at the sometimes ironic expression within. The cover shows a fifties housewife in black heels, nylons, lipstick, a modest hairdo and a house dress covered by an apron mopping her kitchen floor. She is smiling with pride. Her squeaky-clean persona represents the germaphobe in all of us--a class of humanity to which I belong and to which science writer Bakalar has aimed his book. Her pleased sense that her sparkling kitchen is largely germ-free is of course a delusion. Read and be revolted!
As far as readability goes, this is the best general-information book on germs that I have read, and I have read several. What Bakalar does so very well is inform, period. He also has a witty and easy flowing style that makes the pages turn. He is a writer who loves to explain how the microbial world of disease works. He likes to turn away misconceptions and debunk urban myths without taking himself too seriously. He can be slyly funny as when he notes that house mice "are in general not a reservoir of serious human illness," but that "any restaurant that allows them to frolic in the presence of diners is likely to be out of business soon." Or when he identifies electrocuting insect traps that "may actually spread germs into the air" as "the kind that produce that satisfying buzz every time they kill a fly." (p. 197)
He can also be profound. Consider this from page 15: "Viruses, bacteria, archaea, prions, protozoa, and fungi all exist in nature. Disease does not. Disease is a human invention, not a phenomenon that exists out there apart from us." He adds that from the point of view of the disease agent, "the infection is merely life." And indeed, "From the point of view of some organisms, human beings themselves are a disease." He notes that tigers, for example, have a bad case of "humans."
One of the myths that he debunks that I had long believed was that the recycled air in passenger airplanes was a significant cause of disease. Turns out that in older airplanes such as DC-9s and 727s the air is not recycled at all but drawn entirely from outside the plane. In newer airplanes "half the cabin air is recirculated" but it is filtered better and refreshed more often than in office buildings. (pp. 209-210)
Chapter headings include The Contaminated Kitchen, Toilet Training, Kids and Microbes, Microbes and Your Sex Life, Pets and Their Germs, Water and What's in It, Germs in Public Places, etc. Bakalar ends the book with a chapter on products you can buy at the store that may or may not kill germs and improve your health. Naturally all sorts of ugly microbes make their appearance including plague, West Nile virus, smallpox, TB, cholera, etc. as well as some not so charming vectors: mice, rats, mosquitoes, ticks, bats, fleas, and their brethren, cockroaches, flies and things that creep in the night.
There is a 15-page glossary and there are footnotes arranged by chapter (a dense paragraph for each) at the back of the book that you can examine for further information. The notes are not subscripted nor referenced by page. I'm not sure I like this but it does unclutter the text.
--Dennis Littrell, author of “The World Is Not as We Think It Is”
February 17, 2025
Part of the issue is that I picked an infectious disease book published over 20 years ago, so that much is totally on me and is not affecting my rating.
Somewhat outdated info aside, this read like one of my medical school study guides. Not detailed enough to be a textbook, but not entertaining enough (or at all) to keep interest. I typically really enjoy popular science books, but found this one pretty boring. It also wasn’t consistent, some topics would get a blip of a paragraph while others got two pages.
I almost regret not DNF-ing.
Somewhat outdated info aside, this read like one of my medical school study guides. Not detailed enough to be a textbook, but not entertaining enough (or at all) to keep interest. I typically really enjoy popular science books, but found this one pretty boring. It also wasn’t consistent, some topics would get a blip of a paragraph while others got two pages.
I almost regret not DNF-ing.
May 31, 2013
A fairly thorough and very readable survey of the germs we confront - or could confront - on a daily basis. Some of it seems kind of silly and obvious (if you are reading this book you probably already know that washing your hands is the most important step in staying healthy and that antibacterial soaps and products are a bad idea) but other sections are full of fascinating information. So although it is a kind of strange mix of very elementary material and deeper biology, it is worth a quick read.
Read
August 11, 2012one of my wittier friends gave me this recently and i am chugging through it, at a snail's pace, afraid of what i might learn. as a self-proclaimed "germ-phob" it fits me well. so far i've learned toothbrushes are sesspools!
May 7, 2011
I'm not sure how I felt about this book...it was interesting but at times it seemed that the author would include too much information about certain topics and then not enough about others. It was alright though.
August 14, 2008
WASH YOUR HANDS!
Read
August 2, 2011I couldn't really get into this since it was basically a recap of my Pathogenic Bacteriology class. The writing is pretty average, lots of information though, for those who are interested.
March 20, 2012
The one theme that runs through this book is something Mom told us years ago:
WASH YOUR HANDS!!!!
Amen.
WASH YOUR HANDS!!!!
Amen.
November 26, 2011
Parts of this reminded me of being in grad school in Public Health. I enjoyed it enough to finish it.
August 17, 2012
A little more tedious than I expected. Still a decent read.
January 4, 2016
Fantastic.
Displaying 1 - 11 of 11 reviews