Hidden Creatures
Luscious Leeches, Bashful Botflies, and the Wondrous, History-Shaping World of Parasites
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- $14.99
Publisher Description
Welcome to the hidden, squirming world of parasites—some of the most misunderstood creatures with whom we share the Earth (and our bodies).
"Astonishing, eye-opening, and inspiring." —Chloe Dalton, author of Raising Hare
There is the tapeworm, which can grow 120 feet in length within the gut of a whale; the tsetse fly, a notorious vector of disease that can pierce the skin even of crocodiles with its needle-like mouth; and the most universal symbol of parasitic behavior: the leech. Long villainized as, well, parasitic, these creatures are actually a vital part of every ecosystem—and Dr. Dino Martins, an award-winning entomologist and biologist from Kenya, has made it his life’s mission to demystify these beguiling beings.
Hidden Creatures is a journey across the world ten times over—from Martins’s home in the wilds of East Africa to the rainforests of Borneo to cities and backyards across the globe. Along the way we encounter brilliant and eccentric experts who join Martins on his adventures to investigate not only parasites but their hosts, from hyraxes and hippos to, of course, humans.
Immersive, driven by an utterly infectious curiosity, and sure to transform every reader’s understanding of these organisms, Hidden Creatures has the magnetic force of a David Attenborough documentary and introduces a monumental, charming new voice in science writing.
PUBLISHERS WEEKLY
Stony Brook University entomologist Martins (You Can Be an Entomologist!) offers an enlightening overview of parasites, organisms that live on or inside a host creature and get nutrients at their expense. Though they often go unseen, these creatures play a vital role in ecosystems and have had a sizable impact on human history, Martins demonstrates. Drawing on his experience studying insects around the globe, particularly in his native Kenya, he details the lifestyles of a wide range of parasites. Among these are the "diabolical and horrific" guinea worms that enter the body through contaminated drinking water and at maturity reach a length of three feet; tsetse flies, whose needle-like mouthpart can pierce the thick skin of elephants and crocodiles; and the ubiquitous mosquito, small "flying syringes" that have shaped the fate of billions of people by sucking blood and leaving behind protozoan parasites that give people malaria. Parasites aren't all bad, Martins makes clear; maggots, for example, help clean up the world by decomposing dead flesh, and studies suggest intestinal worms play an important role in training humans' immune systems. Also included is a wealth of historical background, such as the use of leeches in medicine across Europe in the 1800s to treat inflammation, tumors, and gout. Simultaneously repulsive and intriguing, this will strike a chord with the insatiably curious.
