Parasite Rex
ISBN 978-0743200110 | |
Parasite Rex: Inside the Bizarre World of Nature's Most Dangerous Creatures is a
The cover of Parasite Rex includes a scanning electron microscope image of a tick as the focus, along with illustrations in the centerfold of parasites and topics discussed in the book.[2]
Content
The book begins by discussing the history of parasites in human knowledge, from the earliest writings about them in ancient cultures, up through modern times. The focus comes to rest extensively on the views and experiments conducted by scientists in the 17th, 18th, and 19th centuries, such as those done by Antonie van Leeuwenhoek, Japetus Steenstrup, Friedrich Küchenmeister, and Ray Lankester. Among them, Leeuwenhoek was the first to ever physically view cells through a microscope, Steenstrup was the first to explain and confirm the multiple stages and life cycles of parasites that are different from most other living organisms, and Küchenmeister, through his religious beliefs and his views on every creature having a place in the natural order, denied the ideas of his time and proved that all parasites are a part of active evolutionary niches and not biological dead ends by conducting morally ambiguous experiments on prisoners. Lankester is given a specific focus and repeated discussion throughout the book due to his belief that parasites are examples of degenerative evolution, especially in regards to Sacculina, and Zimmer's repeated refutation of this idea.[3]
Several chapters are taken to discuss various types of parasites and how they infect and control their hosts, along with the
The final chapters focus on an overall effect parasites have had on the
Style and tone
In a review for Science, Albert O. Bush pointed out how Zimmer creates a writing style that is written with "clarity, conviction, and seemingly without prejudice" and that while the "purist will find the odd mistakes, oversights, and minor errors of fact", these are "insignificant" and do not remove from Parasite Rex's "overall quality or, more importantly, its focus and take-home message."[2]
Reception
See also
- Microcosm: E. coli and the New Science of Life
- Veterinary parasitology
- Conservation biology of parasites
References
- ^ Zimmer, Carl (March 29, 2011). "Parasite Rex Redux: Now with a new epilogue". Discover. Retrieved March 1, 2016.
- ^ S2CID 83273296.(subscription required)
- ^ ISSN 0033-5770.(subscription required)
- S2CID 82968932.
- ^ a b Padian, Kevin (October 22, 2000). "Here's Your Host". The New York Times. Retrieved February 29, 2016.
- ^ "Nonfiction Book Review: Parasite Rex: Inside the Bizarre World of Nature's Most Dangerous Creatures". Publishers Weekly. September 2000. Retrieved February 29, 2016.
- ISSN 0363-0277.(subscription required)
- ISSN 0749-5056. Retrieved March 1, 2016.(subscription required)
- JSTOR 4451363.
- ^ Gardner SL (January 2001). "The Book Nook: Parasite Rex : Inside the Bizarre World of Nature's Most Dangerous Creatures". Newsletter of the American Society of Parasitologists. 23 (1): 13. Retrieved March 1, 2016.
- ^ Allison, Harriet (November 14, 2011). "Review: Parasite Rex (Carl Zimmer)". BlueSci. Archived from the original on March 7, 2016. Retrieved March 2, 2016.
- ^ "Kirkus Review: Parasite Rex". Kirkus Reviews. May 20, 2010. Retrieved March 4, 2016.
External links
- Parasite Rex on Carl Zimmer's website
- Parasite Rex on the Simon & Schuster, Publisher website