I Contain Multitudes: The Microbes Within us and a Grander View of Life By: Ed Yong

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• Title: I Contain Multitudes: The Microbes Within Us and a Grander View of Life
• Author: Ed Yong
• Publisher: Ecco
• Publication Date:  August 9, 2016 
• Pages: 368
• Genre: Science/ Non- Fiction
• Recommended Age(s): 15 +
• First Read: 2017
• Source: Library 
• Rating: 4.0 / 5.0 stars

From the tiny caterpillar to the hulking whale, all organisms are filled with millions upon millions of microorganisms that stay with them from the moment they are born until the day they die. By shifting our perspectives, the microscopic world takes center stage. And through exploring the astonishing connections and relationships between animals and their microbes, we can better understand our place in the grand scheme of life.

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I absolutely loved this book, especially because I had never read anything like it before. It took me on quite a fascinating ride, filled with witty, yet still informative writing. I thought that I would get lost in all the scientific jargon, but I was glad to find out that I understood almost all that was going on. The long, latin names of many of the bacteria were sometimes hard to remember, but that was just a small detail that I could quickly correct by a quick glance back a few pages. I loved how I was forced to look at things through an intensely microscopic outlook and as a result got to see all the relationships and processes that were happening inside of me.

I study microbiology in college, so this book was a total nerd's paradise for me; I got to learn about all the amazing adaptations that nature has devised for all its creatures, especially the section on parasites. I think my favorite part of this book though was the fact that it talked about the possibilities for the future and what scientists were doing to help eliminate diseases like malaria and how to improve someone's help by shifting their microbes in the human microbiome. It's this possibility that made me fall in love with science, so this book has made me incredibly excited for the future.

You don't have to be a scientist to understand this book because it is written in such simple, yet uncondescending language. I laughed out loud more than a couple times at the fun word play that the author uses. I love Ed Yong; he is possibly my favorite science writer and I highly recommend watching his TED Talk on parasites and also his talk on microbes for the Royal Institution. These talks are a great companion to this book and bring Yong's unique voice to life. We all contain a multitude of microbes within us so it wouldn't hurt to learn a little more about ourselves from a whole new perspective!