Allies and Enemies: How the World Depends on Bacteria by Anne Maczulak

Bacteria are invisible, mysterious, deadly, self-sufficient¦and absolutely essential for all life, including yours. No other living things combine their elegant simplicity with their incredibly complex role: Bacteria keep us alive, supply our food, and regulate our biosphere. We cant live a day without them, and no chemical, antibiotic, or irradiation has ever successfully eradicated them. Theyre our partners, like it or not–even though some of them will happily kill us.
Allies and Enemies tells the story of this amazing, intimate partnership. Authored by Anne Maczulak, a microbiologist whos hunted and worked with an extraordinary array of bacteria, this book offers a powerful new perspective on Earths oldest creatures. Youll discover how bacteria work, how they evolve, their surprising contributions and uses, the roles theyve played in human history, and why you can't survive without them. No form of life is more important, and in Maczulaks hands, none is more fascinating.