People, parasites, and plowshares : learning from our body's most terrifying invaders / Dickson D. Despommier ; foreword by William C. Campbell.

Enhanced descriptions from Syndetics:

Dickson D. Despommier's vivid, visceral account of the biology, behavior, and history of parasites follows the interplay between these fascinating life forms and human society over thousands of years. Despommier focuses on long-term host-parasite associations, which have evolved to avoid or even subvert the human immune system. Some parasites do great damage to their hosts, while others have signed a kind of "peace treaty" in exchange for their long lives within them. Many parasites also practice clever survival strategies that medical scientists hope to mimic as they search for treatments for Crohn's disease, food allergies, type 1 diabetes, organ transplantation, and other medical challenges.

Despommier concentrates on particularly remarkable and often highly pathogenic organisms, describing their lifecycles and the mechanisms they use to avoid elimination. He details their attack and survival plans and the nature of the illnesses they cause in general terms, enabling readers of all backgrounds to steal a glimpse into the secret work of such effective invaders. He also points to the cultural contexts in which these parasites thrive and reviews the current treatments available to defeat them. Encouraging scientists to continue to study these organisms even if their threat is largely contained, Despommier shows how closer dissection of the substances parasites produce to alter our response to them could help unravel some of our most complex medical conundrums.

Reviews provided by Syndetics

CHOICE Review

Despommier (emer., public health and microbiology, Columbia Univ.) presents an informative and entertaining view of parasitic life cycles and resulting human diseases, but it is the author's addition of a "plowshare" concept that makes his book unique. He uses this concept to give specific examples of how studying parasites and their survival mechanisms can help scientists and physicians find ways to treat nonparasitic diseases such as diabetes, cancer, immune-related disorders, and others. The book is intended for a wider readership than academics and medical professionals, and Despommier definitely succeeds in his goal. His writing style makes the subject matter interesting, avoiding the dryness often seen when books on scientific subjects are written for a general audience. The use of illustrations, examples, and stories, combined with limited use of technical terms, works well to connect and engage the reader. A glossary of scientific terminology and a four-page "Further Reading" list supports the text. Summing Up: Highly recommended. All academic and general audiences. P. M. Watt formerly, University of Arizona

Kirkus Book Review

The ick factor is high--20-foot tapeworms, skin nodules filled with writhing worms, etc.--but for parasitologists, the fellow travelers chronicled in this illuminating book command respect for the artful ways they have managed cohabitation since the dawn of life. Despommier (Emeritus, Public Health and Microbiology/Columbia Univ.; The Vertical Farm: Feeding the World in the 21st Century, 2010, etc.) writes that his prime interests are not short-lived protozoans like the malaria parasite, deadly though it is. What fascinates him are parasites able to survive in a host for years, inflicting slow but inexorable harm. His specialty has been a species of nematode that causes trichinosis. Once the larvae are ingested, they mature, mate, produce new larvae in the gut and then move out to muscle tissue. There, they fashion a "nurse cell," a fortress that protects the larvae as they grow to the infective stage. Such complex life cycles are typical of parasites and are delineated by Despommier in chapters devoted to hookworm, trypanosomes, lymphatic filariae, tapeworms and other scourges. Some parasites don't have to be eaten or gain entry through a cut or insect bite; they can sneak in along a hair follicle. Others elude immune capture by secretions that suppress immunity or by changing their surface antigens. Despommier highlights these parasite tricks, and he discusses voluntary infection with whipworms to treat autoimmune disease by quieting an overactive immune system. Yes, the infection helps, but eventually, patients mount an immune response to kill the worms, allowing their autoimmune disease to return--all the more reason to search for the key molecules involved. Sadly, parasitic diseases remain highly prevalent, albeit with an occasional success story. Despommier is an excellent popularizer, lacing his accounts of our invaders' ingenuity with history and anecdotes that underscore how grateful a modern society should be for clean drinking water and sanitary facilities.]] Copyright Kirkus Reviews, used with permission.