Description: "In this unique piece of pop-science, one of the world's preeminent experts on parasites reveals their astonishing, disgusting, weird, and fascinating behaviors and how they provide insight into humanity's most difficult problems. Squeamishness aside, what can humans learn from the most reviled yet misunderstood animals on Earth: lice, tapeworms, and maggots that can eat a lizard from the inside? And how can these lessons help us negotiate a world characterized by pandemic disease, ethnic hatred, climate change, war, and internet-driven political chaos? Whether we're learning to adapt to adverse conditions, accept our own limitations, or process new information in a frightening landscape-we can be sure a parasite did it first. Because sometimes, the answers to life's biggest questions can be found by looking at the little things"--
Brief description:
Prize-winning scientist and teacher John Janovy, Jr., PhD, is emeritus professor of biology at the University of Nebraska and lives in Lincoln.
Review Quotes: "This book, a love song to research scientists, is written with the hope that we ordinary humans can learn from their work. Janovy implores his readers to base their conclusions on evidence, rather than being swayed by the many infectious and false ideas in our culture. He stresses that successful organisms adapt to, rather than deny, a changing reality. And he stresses the uniqueness of every organism, no matter how small. Most of all he shows us the complexity and beauty of parasites. After reading this book, I'll never look at mosquitos in the same way again." -- Dr. Mary Pipher, author of Letters to a Young Therapist