Planet of Microbes: The Perils and Potential of Earth's Essential Life Forms

by Ted Anton

We live in a time of unprecedented scientific knowledge about the origins of life on Earth. But if we want to grasp the big picture, we have to start small—very small. That’s because the real heroes of the story of life on Earth are microbes, the tiny living organisms we cannot see with the naked eye. Microbes were Earth’s first lifeforms, early anaerobic inhabitants that created the air we breathe. Today they live, invisible and seemingly invincible, in every corner of the planet, from Yellowstone’s scalding hot springs to Antarctic mountaintops to inside our very bodies—more than a hundred trillion of them. Don’t be alarmed many microbes are allies in achieving our—to say nothing of our planet’s—health.
           
In Planet of Microbes , Ted Anton takes readers through the most recent discoveries about microbes, revealing their unexpected potential to reshape the future of the planet. For years, we knew little about these invisible invaders, considering them as little more than our enemies in our fight against infectious disease. But the more we learn about microbes, the more it’s become clear that our very lives depend on them. They may also hold the answers to some of science’s most pressing problems, including how to combat a warming planet, clean up the environment, and help the body fight off a wide variety of diseases. Anton has spent years interviewing and working with the determined scientists who hope to harness the work of microbes, and he breaks down the science while also sharing incredible behind-the-scenes stories of the research taking place everywhere from microbreweries to Mars.
           
The world’s tiniest organisms were here more than three billion years before us. We live in their world, and Planet of Microbes at last gives these unsung heroes the recognition they deserve.
 

Genres: Science, Nonfiction, Nature

288 pages, Hardcover

Published October 31, 2017

Reviews

[Edward Canade · Rating 3 out of 5]

I agree with some of the GoodReads reviewers, that Planet of Microbes is disjointed. He makes a bunch of small errors that the editor should have caught. But still there is a ton of interesting information within these 265 pages. It does explore the pioneers who put forth ideas of the importance of symbiosis in evolution and cell development. He has visited and talked with many who have done microbial research and others who have searched for the origins of life on Earth, and the potential for live on other celestial bodies. Ted talks of new understandings of our microbial biome which has both a jekyll and Hyde side. Even temporary disruptions in the early months of human development, such as taking antibiotics, can lead to diabetes or autism. Some microbes can even be protective at some stages of development and even essential but when an imbalance occurs these same microbes and destroy. We have only begun to understand all the ways microbes effect all aspects of our health, and the environments we live. If you want a quick overview of where microbial research began and is heading, I'd say give Ted Anton's book a visit.

Yeah there are errors and it's awkward in places but he has done a lot of first hand interviews and conveys a good understanding of a little understood subject. Microbes effect all aspects of our lives and the health of the planet, I felt like I learned a lot from reading it.

[Nathan · Rating 1 out of 5]

Incredibly disorganized and repetitive.
Was there an editor at all?? I wonder

Somewhere in here there is an interesting story to be told. Hopefully someone will tell it coherently soon.

[Melissa Mannon · Rating 2 out of 5]

I just made it one chapter in. There are no explanations of science concepts, just simple descriptions of events, and I've already spotted two words missing in sentences. Poor science writing and poor editing of a fascinating topic.

[Elentarri · Rating 2 out of 5]

This book is supposed to be about the recent discoveries that have to do with microbes. In fact, it ends up being a long-winded, somewhat disorganised, poorly written biography of the scientists involved in those discoveries. There is minimal actual science in this book (none of which is explained properly) and even the discoveries are given highly superficial treatment, thus providing a vague idea of the importance of microbes but not explaining how they do what they do. There were also many repetitions and what I assume are editing oversights (left out words and nonsense sentences), as well as some oddball choices, such as describing Lynne Margulis by her maiden surname (Alexander) then in the same paragraph referring to her by her second marriage surname (Margulis), while discussing her first marriage to Carl Sagan; or discussing one scientist and then jumping around to other scientists and different topics before randomly jumping back to the first scientist. Nothing in this book is new. The topics covered in this book are discussed more successfully in other books.

OTHER BOOKS ABOUT MICROBES

- I Contain Multitudes: The Microbes Within Us and a Grander View of Life by Ed Yong
- Amoeba in the Room: Lives of the Microbes by Nicholas P. Money
- The Hidden Half of Nature: The Microbial Roots of Life and Health by David R. Montgomery
- March of the Microbes: Sighting the Unseen by John L. Ingraham
- Superbug: The Fatal Menace of MRSA by Maryn McKenna
- The Killers Within: The Deadly Rise Of Drug-Resistant Bacteria by Michael Shnayerson, Mark J. Plotkin
- Power, Sex, Suicide: Mitochondria and the Meaning of Life by Nick Lane

[Stephanie · Rating 1 out of 5]

I tried. I really tried with this one.

I was super excited when I found this book on the shelf at the library. Ooo a new book on microbes!
I read the back jacket and found the author was an English professor. Having a scientific background, I thought to myself, eh, an English professor writing science? Then I thought, well maybe that's a good thing. Sometimes science material can be too science-y. Surely this author would know that and deliver this so that science geeks aren't the only ones who will understand this.

WRONG.

The book did nothing to explain ALOT of science stuff. Let's face it, if you aren't into science or really remember much about biology - you will not like this book. Even if you are into science, I am not sure this is a good book for you. The author does nothing to explain anything he is talking about into simple terms. I also did not appreciate how he approached topics and people. He would start one paragraph about one person and then bring up a new scientist in the next. Not to mention at one point I was reading about Lynn Alexander who with a snap of a finger became Margulis. I actually had to Google the names to make sure they were there same person (they are). There was also plenty of poorly written areas, which shocked me, given the author's profession.

I gave up on page 67. I planned on reading the first section but I was so unexcited about this book I decided to not even bother.

[Alexis · Rating 5 out of 5]

If you watch the Big Bang Theory, read the Science section of the New York Times and live on the line where nature meets poetry, Planet of Microbes by Ted Anton will engage you in the history and future of microbes. Anton is as much a historian of science as he is a creative nonfiction writer.

You don’t have to understand science to understand Anton. He explains without patronizing, probing to the depths of life’s origins. He writes about how microbes influence health, mental health, and horticulture; how they are found in astronomy; how they can be used to fight disease; and how they can tell us secrets about the origins of life.

If science were a movie Anton shows you the scientists behind microbes discovery, including the behind the scenes details of their lives. Reading Planet of Microbes is like talking directly to scientists. Anton sets the scene to give you every last detail of their worlds.

Planet of Microbes should be required reading in every high school and college biology class.

[Sam Ross · Rating 1 out of 5]

That this book is written by a Professor of English seems almost laughable given the various ways the author violates simple rules of good writing. The book is riddled with small errors which should have been caught by an editor or a quick proof read by the author. Most frustrating is the amount of repetition throughout; this book could easily have been 100 pages or fewer but is instead stretched thin with repetition and filler material. This becomes less severe towards the end of the book, but the first third left me tired.

Though a bit self-indulgent at times, the interviews with prominent scientists in the field are the highlight of this book, and anyone interested in the complex interrelationships between researchers as the field developed and the history of who was where, when, might find this to be a more enjoyable read than anyone expecting to learn much about microbes themselves. For me, the Mars chapter was the strongest, and small flashes of interesting tidbits (mainly hidden within the interviews) made the read just about bearable.

[Laura Liscum · Rating 1 out of 5]

This 'science' book is written by an English professor, so one would expect it to be well written at least. Not so. Sentence fragments. Sentences that don't make any sense. I could not finish this book - it made me too mad.

[The Inquisitive Biologist · Rating 4 out of 5]

Planet of Microbes is a high-octane story of microbiological discovery. See my full review at https://inquisitivebiologist.com/2018...