Acclaimed science writer Carl Zimmer uses the familiar bacterium E coli as a prism to understand what life is, what it was, and what it will become.
Carl Zimmer writes about science for the New York Times and is the author of five previous books. He was awarded the 2007 National Academies Communication Award, the highest honour in the US for science writing. He lives in Connecticut
""Microcosm "could well be entitled "Fantastic Voyage. "Carl Zimmer, one of our most talented and respected science writers, guides us on a memorable journey into the invisible but amazing world within and around a tiny bacterium. He reveals a life-or-death battle every bit as dramatic as that on the Serengeti and one that offers profound insights into how life is made and evolves. "Microcosm "expands our sense of wonder by illuminating a microscopic universe few could imagine and instills a sense of pride in the great achievements of the scientists who have discovered and mastered its workings."--Sean B. Carroll, author of "Endless Forms Most Beautiful "and "The Making of the Fittest ""Written in elegant, even poetic prose, Zimmer's well-crafted exploration should be required reading for all well-educated readers."--"Publishers Weekly"
To display a broad swath of the people, scientific processes, and discoveries involved in biology, science writer Zimmer (Soul Made Flesh: The Discovery of the Brain--and How It Changed the World) describes a common, luxuriantly growing, usually benign gut bacterium, Escherichia coli, or E. coli. Easily grown in petri dishes, the species has alter egos that can kill its hosts, making the organism a useful laboratory model to explore the basis of heredity. Zimmer recounts the ingenious experiments performed over the last century, garnering Nobel prizes for those scientists who outlined the textbook diagrams of the biochemical processes that all organisms on Earth share with E. coli. He effectively counters the proponents of intelligent design concepts by describing the work of evolutionary development scientists who have shown evolutionary processes occurring in E. coli within a very short time line. The scientists, their work, and the ethical questions with which they wrestle are sensitively profiled, and Zimmer employs imagery to great effect, leaving the reader with the sense of having attended a well-executed museum exhibit intended for intelligent adults. Recommended for public and academic libraries. [See Prepub Alert, LJ 1/08.]--Sara Rutter, Univ. of Hawaii at Manoa Lib., Honolulu Copyright 2008 Reed Business Information.
""Microcosm "could well be entitled "Fantastic Voyage. "Carl Zimmer, one of our most talented and respected science writers, guides us on a memorable journey into the invisible but amazing world within and around a tiny bacterium. He reveals a life-or-death battle every bit as dramatic as that on the Serengeti and one that offers profound insights into how life is made and evolves. "Microcosm "expands our sense of wonder by illuminating a microscopic universe few could imagine and instills a sense of pride in the great achievements of the scientists who have discovered and mastered its workings."--Sean B. Carroll, author of "Endless Forms Most Beautiful "and "The Making of the Fittest ""Written in elegant, even poetic prose, Zimmer's well-crafted exploration should be required reading for all well-educated readers."--"Publishers Weekly"
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