I Contain Multitudes

The Microbes Within Us and a Grander View of Life

By: Ed Yong

Narrated by: Charlie Anson

Length: 9 hrs and 52 mins

Publisher's summary

Joining the ranks of popular science classics like The Botany of Desire and The Selfish Gene, a groundbreaking, wondrously informative, and vastly entertaining examination of the most significant revolution in biology since Darwin - a "microbe's-eye view" of the world that reveals a marvelous, radically reconceived picture of life on Earth.

Every animal, whether human, squid, or wasp, is home to millions of bacteria and other microbes. Ed Yong, whose humor is as evident as his erudition, prompts us to look at ourselves and our animal companions in a new light - less as individuals and more as the interconnected, interdependent multitudes we assuredly are.

The microbes in our bodies are part of our immune systems and protect us from disease. In the deep oceans, mysterious creatures without mouths or guts depend on microbes for all their energy. Bacteria provide squid with invisibility cloaks, help beetles to bring down forests, and allow worms to cause diseases that afflict millions of people.

Many people think of microbes as germs to be eradicated, but those that live with us - the microbiome - build our bodies, protect our health, shape our identities, and grant us incredible abilities. In this astonishing book, Ed Yong takes us on a grand tour through our microbial partners and introduces us to the scientists on the front lines of discovery. It will change both our view of nature and our sense of where we belong in it.

©2016 Ed Yong (P)2016 HarperCollins Publishers

Critic reviews

"Narrator Charlie Anson brings out the dry humor in British science journalist Ed Yong's fascinating and accessible treatise on the world of microbes. Anson also does admirably pronouncing the many scientific names and words, and his smooth and lively delivery helps keep listeners from getting bogged down." ( AudioFile)

Fascinating and informative

I'm a scientist with a professional interest (though by no means an expert) in microbes, and I found this book fascinating. It packed full of science and Yong does a great job explaining it and conveying the excitement of the field and the researchers behind it. The narration is generally very good. My only complaint is that regularly there are lines that were obviously re-recorded and hearing the small but obvious difference in the speech (I assume due to sound recording and processing) is distracting. I feel that a better production job could have avoided this.

Loved this book

I am not a biologist but I understood the technical content as it was delivered.

Thoroughly enjoyed this one

Thoroughly enjoyed this. I think I will listen to this book again. Ed Yong rocks! 😊

So much new information! Excellent book.

I have learned so much listening to this book and really enjoyed it. The accent is a bit overpowering at times, but mostly okay; it is more of a distraction than an enhancement. I recommend the book to anyone.

Most enjoyable book

Clear and current overview of microbiology and the micro-biome. It covers human, forests, insects, and bacteria and phage in key area of research. Excellent and balanced (minus too much hype) advances in probiotics as well as FMT.

Enjoy biology class? Me neither. This changed that

Would you listen to I Contain Multitudes again? Why?

I've listened to this book five times in two months, despite it being one of hundreds in my Audible library. I come back to this book again and again. The narrator's voice is a big part of it; his tone and actual voice itself is soothing but inspiring, keeping me interested despite how my attention wants to wander. The writing is symbiotic with the vocal narration (it's a pun you'll get once you've heard it). The writing is, simply, amazing. I listen to memoirs all the time among a lot of fiction, and downloaded this after seeing it on a booklist for "Best Science Books to Actually Learn Something" - and couldn't agree more. There is only one other book I recommend listening to if you enjoy this and that's "Lab Girl" by Hope... I love memoirs, but what I love more is learning invaluable facts that technically I learned in high school and as early as middle grades, but had forgotten or not learned well enough at those times until these books came along. I understand so much more than I ever did back then.

Probably one of my favorite listens

Loved it, period. The narrator, the presentation of ideas, and the complexity of the ideas keep you engaged throughout the entire book. If you want to understand more about the microbial world, I would highly recommend this book.

Truly inspirational.

Though a little hard to follow at times, truly amazing look at life as we may not know it.

Great book!

One of the most interesting books I’ve read! Makes you rethink your body and its connection to the environment.

Unique Book That Opens Up a Whole New World

This is a fascinating and well written exploration of the incredible living mico world that is inside us and surrounds us everywhere.