Publisher's Weekly Review
In this snappy, popular science look at the human condition, North Carolina State biologist Dunn (Every Living Thing) argues that our lives and our bodily functions (including the immune system) are intimately linked to species that live on and around us. Dunn offers lots of eye-popping biological tidbits-such as how worms may set you free if you suffer from a variety of stomach disorders; or the supposedly useless appendix actually helps the microbes in our guts; and scary movies satisfy our brain parts that still tell us we're being chased by predators. Ticks and lice may have triggered our relatively hairless evolution. Yet there's far more than fun facts; Dunn begs us to look toward a future in which we interact more with the species we have moved away from. Dunn challenges us to view a "web of life in which we evolved, that once shaped us and whose rediscovery could benefit our bodies and our health." (July) (c) Copyright PWxyz, LLC. All rights reserved.
Kirkus Review
Dunn (Biology/North Carolina State Univ.;Every Living Thing: Man's Obsessive Quest to Catalog Life, from Nanobacteria to New Monkeys, 2008) proclaims that many human ills and behaviors reflect the evolutionary past of a species that has put itself above nature and all other species.Thus our antibiotic habits have unbalanced our immune systems, leading to attacks on our own tissues rather than invading organisms. This "hygiene hypothesis" may account for increases in autoimmune maladies like Crohn's disease. The solution? Repopulate the gut with worms that the immune system tolerates or that may suppress the system's hyperactivity. Dunn writes that Crohn's and other such disorders are rare wherever gut parasites are common. He points to a cottage industry selling worm eggs and even suggests going barefoot in a primitive latrine in hopes that worms will infect. Some swear by the treatment; others are not helped. Dunn cites studies suggesting that the appendix, supposedly vestigial, is the nursery for good bacteria needed to replenish a gut decimated by antibiotics and provides examples of microbes essential in human and other metabolisms (think termites' ability to eat wood). The author stresses our interdependence with species on a larger scale. Where cows were domesticated, mutations that allow adults to digest milk prospered. Where agriculture flourished, some grew fat and society developed haves and have-nots. Where venomous snakes abound, human and primate color vision was honed. Throughout the book, Dunn exaggerates his tales to increase the shock value, and he ends with a paean to hope and progress in the form of green city buildingsnot just with rooftop gardens, but vertical farms of crops to delight any locavore (for more specific information on vertical farms, see Dickson Despommier's The Vertical Farm, 2010.)Dunn provides some useful information and updated evolutionary history, but the book is marred by excessively provocative and often purple prose.]] Copyright Kirkus Reviews, used with permission.
Booklist Review
*Starred Review* In an era of more, better, and stronger antibiotics, ranging from pharmaceuticals to antibacterial hand cleansers, biologist Dunn breezes in with a reminder that might rattle some clean freaks. The human body is nothing more than a wholly biological, living system that comes naturally complete with its own dizzying assortment of the predators, parasites, and partners of his title. What's more, he says, much as we attempt to rid ourselves of them all, we do so at our peril. True, they rely on us for their lives, but it is a mutually beneficial relationship. Indeed, he points to the rise in certain diseases after humans began to aggressively sanitize their environment, apparently to achieve a world devoid of microscopic critters. The price paid, however, consists of increased incidences of everything from asthma to diabetes to Crohn's disease. While Dunn's news may seem dire, complicated, and, to some, unsavory, he's a master at applying the principle of administering a spoonful of sugar (i.e., humor) to make the medicine of complicated scientific information not merely interesting but gripping. Nothing less than an every-person's handbook for understanding life, great and small, on planet Earth.--Chavez, Donn. Copyright 2010 Booklist
Library Journal Review
In his latest book, Dunn (Every Living Thing: Man's Obsessive Quest To Catalog Life, from Nanobacteria to New Monkeys) uses the principles of evolutionary ecology to illustrate how humans have become increasingly disconnected from nature and are sicker because of it. Many books examine human interactions with nature, but Dunn provides interesting new insights by using an evolutionary perspective to illustrate why early humans may have felt the need to control the natural world. As survival became easier, eradication of "pests" and other things perceived as undesirable led to greater susceptibility to disease and to new anxieties. Adding touches of humor along the way, Dunn deftly explains complex biological systems for the general reader. While the topic may seem gloomy at first glance, Dunn offers reasons for hope. From recolonizing our guts with parasites to creating urban agricultures, he shows how reconsidering our current philosophies while continuing to learn from other species may save us yet. VERDICT Highly recommended for nature aficionados, this book should inspire many lively discussions.-Tina Neville, Univ. of South Florida at St. Petersburg Lib. (c) Copyright 2011. Library Journals LLC, a wholly owned subsidiary of Media Source, Inc. No redistribution permitted.
