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A Planet Of Viruses (2011)

by Carl Zimmer(Favorite Author)

3.89 of 5 Votes: 5

ISBN

0226983358 (ISBN13: 9780226983356)

languge

English

genre

Nonfiction

publisher

University Of Chicago Press

review 1: An exciting journey into the world of viruses. It was so interesting that it didn't let me hop into some other book,which I do all the time while reading a book. And considering how stupid(not much interested too) I am in matters of science,this is an extraordinary feat. Just to give you an idea of how stupid I am,I will just add that I haven't heard of rhinovirus ever before(or may have,but never noticed). So I'm nowhere near even a mediocre when it comes to analyzing the science in here. But it is true that the book gave a good amount of knowledge to me. And it did so in an interesting way unlike the science texts we usually have to read(which are the things I detest the most,second only to mathematics texts). HIGHLY RECOMMENDED.
review 2: Having read some of... more the reviews of this book prior to reading it, I didn't have very high expectations. I knew ahead of time that it was light on the science and not a hefty tome. I ended up being pleasantly surprised though. It is simple and short, but it also has a number of interesting tidbits about viruses and what they are capable of. I have seen this recommended for middle school and I will say that if you were to give this to anyone without an basic in-depth biology course, they might feel frustrated with their ability to understand it. While it is simple and grazes over the actual specifics of how viruses work, there is presumed a general understanding of biology and genetic terminology. "A Planet of Viruses" is a collection of essay, that covers what viruses are, how they were isolated as pathogens, how they've integrated with all life, how prevalent they are, and what dangers they pose. There is also some philosophical discussion of what life is and how viruses fit into the definitions. I enjoyed it and while I might not have learned much, it did have a few tidbits I hadn't been aware of, and I found it to be very readable. less

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