PublishedGreystone Books, May 2024 |
ISBN9781771648257 |
FormatHardcover, 240 pages |
Dimensions21.6cm × 14cm |
Learn everything you need to know about these often misunderstood - and incredibly interesting - microbes. Wess introduces an eclectic collection of impressive, useful, weird, and dangerous bacterial species. He reveals everything he knows about bacteria, including their ability to survive almost anywhere, to 'sleep' for millions of years before becoming active again, to maintain their own immune systems (a discovery that has led to medical breakthroughs for humans), and to - hypothetically - live on other planets.
He then moves on to his curious compendium of bacterial species, presenting fifty fascinating portraits grouped by useful categories: bacteria that are record holders, extreme-habitat dwellers, unusual consumers, people-helpers, and people-harmers. Beautiful black-and-white illustrations accompany each portrait. At the end of this engrossing read, Wess recognises how much we still don't know about bacteria. But by starting here, we can come closer to understanding the first life on Earth.
