This Is Your Brain On Parasites

If you've ever doubted the power of microbes to shape society and offer us a grander view of life, read on and find yourself duly impressed. -BookForum A fascinating account of an extraordinary suite of biological phenomena, only recently come to light and proving that given enough time and enough evolving species to work with, natural selection can accomplish almost anything. -Edward O. Wilson, Professor Emeritus, Harvard University, author of Consilience. This book has all the elements of a crime thriller: violence, blood, gore, race and sex. But here the criminals are parasites. McAuliffe tells a vivid and sometimes horrifying tale of the hijackers that control our brains and our behaviour. In company with the best science writers, she shows us that reality can be way more interesting than fiction. -Valerie Curtis, Director of the Environmental Health Group of the London School of Hygiene & Tropical Medicine and author of Don't Look, Don't Touch, Don't Eat Be prepared to throw away all your preconceptions about the order of life. Humorous, inspiring and macabre--this is infectious reading in the tradition of giants like Robert S. Desowitz and Jared Diamond. -Michael A Huffman, associate professor, Primate Research Institute, Kyoto University From start to finish, [McAuliffe] spins a consistently engrossing tale of invasive creatures that can alter your behavior and outlook, depress your cognitive functioning, and even make you more violent or sexually aggressive. -- Heather Havrilesky, Book Forum