Overview

In praise of parasites, a surprising exploration of the profound impact of biological freeloaders on human history and our daily lives. Parasites and parasitic relationships are fundamental to life on Earth and to human history. Our Bodies, Our Planet explores how vital they are. Unlike harmful pathogens, parasites may produce no ill effects and may even improve our well-being and the lives of the creatures that surround us. Marcus Hall shows how our fellow travelers have evolved to help keep us alive, or else they themselves will perish. Parasitism is a phenomenon of partnership, and the association of parasite and host has had far-ranging cultural, biological, and possibly geophysical consequences. From Ascaris to Zika, we are instinctively repulsed by these little freeloaders, but what collateral effects do they have on our lives, lifestyles, or even our imagination? As Hall demonstrates, we disregard our parasites at our peril.

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Marcus Hall is professor of environmental history at the University of Zurich. His books include Earth Repair, Restoration and History, and Mosquitopia. Kevin T. Collins is a New York actor and director who has been seen Off-Broadway in Made in Heaven and Angels; on TV in Vinyl, Law & Order, As the World Turns, One Life to Live, What Would You Do?, and Guiding Light; on film in Taking Woodstock, Detachment, The Family Fang, and Zombies Anonymous; and heard on over 225 audiobooks, including AudioFile Earphones Award winners Testimony and Lone Survivor, and the 2011 Audie Award-winning Beautiful Creatures.

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