Power Unseen: How Microbes Rule the World [Paperback]

With our present concerns and apprehensions about the invisible yet ubiquitous microbes which are a natural part of our environment, Bernard Dixon, the British science writer has written a series of vignettes to protray the myriad diverse and fascinating activities of some of these microscopic bacteria, viruses, fungi and protozoans. Too frequently, we associate microbes with pestilence and spoilage; microbes as germs have been branded as invaders and pathogens which use and abuse their hosts. While from the human perspective, this reputation may be well deserved, the essays portray both the useful and the worrisome features of these microorganisms.

Divided into five sections, each holding fifteen delightful short stories to illustrate how microbes (1)shape our world, (2)spring surprises, (3)threaten us, (4) lead us to depend on them, and (5)shape our future; the contents combine historical background with contemporary technology. Starting with the primordial cell, where we all began - the essays cover the problems and circumstances that are associated with plague, smallpox, AIDS, rabies, yellow fever, lyme disease, typhoid, cholera along with many other appalling diseases. To balance this fearsome ensemble, useful microbes on which we depend or which we can manipulate to advantage are described; such as the nitrogen fixers, antibiotic producers, vitamin manufacturers, and the genetically engineered microrobots.

Bernard Dixon has the knack of describing the microbes both in their historical context and in our current awareness of their impact. In two essays, he relates the story of Typhoid Mary and the consequences on those infected with the bacteria along with our past helplessness to control the disease, and in the second he relates the tale of the development of a recently cultured live oral vaccine that is more successful than the dead vaccines used earlier. In fact, Vivotif, the oral typhoid vaccine was prescribed for us before embarking on an Amazon trip recently. It is a painless, oral tablet that carries a modified strain of 'Salmomella typhii'. This living ingested microbe infects the intestinal wall for a few days before it self-destructs due to 'genetic crippling'. It was gratifying to learn that the 'live' medication confers long term immunity and shows better results that the earlier painful, injected dead bacterial vaccines.

This is a delightful and practical book which will enrich the scientific background of students at the high school and college levels, as well as interested adults. Years back, the classic 'Microbe Hunters' by Paul de Kruif was the recommended outside reading for microbiology students and science afficiandos; I would strongly add "Power Unseen" to the list of exciting and relevant reading materials that present background history along with up-to-date descriptions about some of those 'microbes that rule the world'.

Being a junior doctor now, whenever I recall my 2nd year in the medical school I remember all these nights trying to understand what at time thought of a much more difficult course than anatomy (!)....microbiology. I never thought I would be following a microbiology career. This book changed it all. There is nothing to be afraid of microbes.....Hypochondriac as all med students are was also myself...all you must do is to consider it as part of our planet's natural history..The book correlates human history and microbes in the most exciting way! The language is readable by everyone and the new ideas jump out in every page....I could not stop thinking humanity as a microbe of the universe. There were chapters that i couldnt stop laughing and others that really put me thinking. Read it....it will make you appreciate the role of medicine and microbes in our lifes.

This is a great book for general reading on microbes and microbiology. The short chapters make for easy and very entertaining reading, and it is one of those books that can really inspire an interest in science. Many people develop an interest microbiology after reading "The Microbe Hunters," and I agree with the previous reviewer who suggested that "Power Unseen" makes very good follow-up reading. It is more focused on the actual microbes rather than their discoverers, but the excellent storytelling and appeal to general audiences is similar. It is really a shame, and very surprising to me, that it is not currently in print. I highly recommend reading it if you have even the slightest interest in microbiology and can buy or borrow a used copy.