Synopses & Reviews
A riveting exploration of how microbes are transforming the way we
see nature and ourselves — and could revolutionize agriculture and
medicine.
Prepare to set aside what you think you know about yourself
and microbes. Good health — for people and for plants — depends on Earth’s
smallest creatures. The Hidden Half of Nature tells the story
of our tangled relationship with microbes and their potential to
revolutionize agriculture and medicine, from garden to gut.
When
David R. Montgomery and Anne Biklé decide to restore life into their
barren yard by creating a garden, dead dirt threatens their dream. As a
cure, they feed their soil a steady diet of organic matter. The results
impress them. In short order, the much-maligned microbes transform their
bleak yard into a flourishing Eden. Beneath their feet, beneficial
microbes and plant roots continuously exchange a vast array of essential
compounds. The authors soon learn that this miniaturized commerce is
central to botanical life’s master strategy for defense and health.
They
are abruptly plunged further into investigating microbes when Biklé is
diagnosed with cancer. Here, they discover an unsettling truth. An
armada of bacteria (our microbiome) sails the seas of our gut, enabling
our immune system to sort microbial friends from foes. But when our gut
microbiome goes awry, our health can go with it. The authors also
discover startling insights into the similarities between plant roots
and the human gut. We are not what we eat. We are all — for better or
worse — the product of what our microbes eat.
This leads to a
radical reconceptualization of our relationship to the natural world: by
cultivating beneficial microbes, we can rebuild soil fertility and help
turn back the modern plague of chronic diseases. The Hidden Half of Nature
reveals how to transform agriculture and medicine — by merging the mind
of an ecologist with the care of a gardener and the skill of a doctor.
Review
“At the heart of this delightful book lies the simple belief that
microbes have 'shaped our past and how we treat them will shape our
future in ways we are only beginning to understand.'” Publishers Weekly
Review
“A must-read for avid gardeners, those interested in bolstering our
precarious food supply, or anyone remotely concerned about their health
and the soil under their feet.” Kirkus Reviews
Review
“Eye opening … A must for all fascinated by the workings of the body and
for those concerned with health care and the environment.” Booklist
About the Author
David R. Montgomery is a professor of geomorphology at the University of Washington in Seattle, where he lives. The author of Dirt and King of Fish, he was a 2008 MacArthur Fellow.
Anne Biklé is a biologist and environmental planner.
Her career spans the fields of environmental stewardship, habitat
restoration, and public health. The Hidden Half of Nature is her first book.