Invisible Friends

How Microbes Shape Our Lives and the World Around Us

JAKE M. ROBINSON

Reveals the overwhelmingly beneficial role played by microorganisms.

A clear and engaging account of the fundamental importance of microbes to all life.

Discover how microbes affect our decisions and behaviour.

Cutting-edge microbiome research is changing our understanding of reality. It is increasingly evident that microbes are the very glue that holds ecosystems together. This topical and original book counters the prevailing narrative of microbes as the bane of society, along the way providing much-needed clarity on the beneficial role they play.

Praise For Invisible Friends

Jake Robinson is the Gilbert White, the Henry David Thoreau, of the microbiome. His charmingly-written book, a work of science leavened by literary allusion and engaging personal memoir, invites us to dive down through many powers of ten to the invisible level of microbes... nobody could fail to be intrigued.

Richard Dawkins

I enjoyed this book very much indeed. It was a fascinating romp through the microbial world and is definitely the sort of book that would make me miss my station. If you are not a microbiologist, you will be astonished at how much microbes affect, regulate and sustain your life, and Robinson's passion and enthusiasm for the world of the very tiny positively glows on every page.

Dr George McGavin,

President of the Dorset Wildlife Trust

From the microbes in our bodies to those on the International Space Station, Jake Robinson reveals a hidden world that we would be unwise to ignore.

Rebecca Nesbit, ecologist and author of Tickets for the Ark

Robinson has crafted an immensely accessible and important book. It lifts the lid on the secrets of how our microbial world is so crucial to human and planetary health.

Prof. John F. Cryan, Principal Investigator in the APC Microbiome Institute, University College Cork

Biographical Note

Jake M. Robinson is a microbial ecologist based in the UK. In 2021, he received a PhD from the University of Sheffield. He is passionate about researching microbes, ecosystems, social equity issues and the connections between them, and at the same time is keen to develop ways to conserve and restore nature. Invisible Friends is his first book.

PUBLICATION DATE 07 March 2023

PUBLISHER

Pelagic Publishing

FORMAT | ISBN | PRICE

Hbk | 9781784274337 | £16.99 | $24.00 eBook available

Audiobook available

SIZE 216 x 138 mm

PAGES

304pp

BIC SUBJECTS

PSG, RNCB, PSX

BISAC SUBJECTS

SCI045000, SCI036000, SCI088000

RIGHTS

World (Chinese rights sold)