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ejthomas's review against another edition
4.0
When I started reading this book I felt like I'd been waiting my entire life for it. Parasites are amazing. There are no two ways about it. Far from being the stuff of nightmares Zimmer transforms parasites into unique and actually very complex organisms that we are still striving to uncover the secrets of.
haleybre's review against another edition
informative
slow-paced
3.5
Content Warnings
Minor: Pandemic/Epidemic, Chronic illness, Child death, Death, Medical content, and Animal death
yates9's review against another edition
5.0
Some years after I read this book I realised I keep coming back to some of its ideas. We need to take parasites as drivers of who we are much more seriously than we do, its a powerful idea.
The book itself is well written, disgusting at times, terrifying at others, but hard to put down once you get into it.
I keep thinking this sort of drive is what might be relevant to much of current technosocial development, AI etc...
The book itself is well written, disgusting at times, terrifying at others, but hard to put down once you get into it.
I keep thinking this sort of drive is what might be relevant to much of current technosocial development, AI etc...
robhood's review against another edition
3.0
This book is way too complex for the average voracious reader like myself! I'm sure that biologists will find this divine, but I found it tedious reading!
the_slackening's review against another edition
informative
slow-paced
3.0
It was fairly interesting with a lot of new info. The green crab in California is certainly a huge concern. It was fascinating to learn that female genes push back on fetus development to try to preserve resources while male genes accelerate the fetus, because the male wants babies as fast as possible but the Female wants to survive.
The book was a bit of a slog at many points, however.
The book was a bit of a slog at many points, however.
jabarkas's review against another edition
5.0
A really intriguing and excellent science read. Lots of very exciting evolutionary theory which tied in nicely with the considerably fluffier Brief History of Nearly Everything. If I were to criticize, I would say that Zimmer is very much prone to the vice of scientific enthusiasm.
dantastic's review against another edition
3.0
Parasite Rex is about parasites and the history of parasitology. Nature is pretty gross. That's about the only way I can think of o describe this book.
Let me tell you, there are some crazy creatures out there. I'm going to gloss over the hundreds of thousands of species of tapeworms and parasitic wasps and go to the really crazy ones. Like Cymothoa exigua, a crustacean that replaces a fish's tongue, or Sacculina, a barnacle-like parasite that uses a crab like a puppet. And that's just the tip of the disgusting iceberg.
Did you know parasites influence the behavior of their hosts in any number of ways? Like putting heir host in danger in order to perpetuate their life cycle? Crazy stuff.
It's not all great, though. It could have used more pictures and the writing stye could be a little more accessible. Still, it's an informative read and made me wonder why we aren't all riddled with parasites.
Let me tell you, there are some crazy creatures out there. I'm going to gloss over the hundreds of thousands of species of tapeworms and parasitic wasps and go to the really crazy ones. Like Cymothoa exigua, a crustacean that replaces a fish's tongue, or Sacculina, a barnacle-like parasite that uses a crab like a puppet. And that's just the tip of the disgusting iceberg.
Did you know parasites influence the behavior of their hosts in any number of ways? Like putting heir host in danger in order to perpetuate their life cycle? Crazy stuff.
It's not all great, though. It could have used more pictures and the writing stye could be a little more accessible. Still, it's an informative read and made me wonder why we aren't all riddled with parasites.