Good Germs, Bad Germs: Health and Survival in a Bacterial World

Public sanitation and antibiotic drugs have brought about historic increases in the human life span; they have also unintentionally produced new health crises by disrupting the intimate, age-old balance between humans and the microorganisms that inhabit our bodies and our environment. As a result, antibiotic resistance now ranks among the gravest medical problems of modern times. Good Germs, Bad Germs tells the story of what went terribly wrong in our war on germs. It also offers a hopeful look into a future in which antibiotics will be designed and used more wisely, and beyond that to a day when we may replace antibacterial drugs and cleansers with bacterial ones.

Customer Reviews:

Must Reading for Anyone Concerned with Health

By A Lover of Good Books - November 4, 2007

Good Germs, Bad Germs: Health and Survival in a Bacterial World by Jessica Snyder Sachs, is an up-to-date summary of what we know about how bacteria interact with humans.

It's a fascinating story, because after a lifetime of "fighting germs" it seems that scientists are coming to learn that the interaction between bacteria and our bodies is far more complex than was ever realized and we have to work with germs and make alliances with "good germs" in order to survive.

The book starts out with several chapters that explore in greater detail than I've seen elsewhere, the research that has been establishing "The Hygiene Hypothesis." This is the idea that the huge rise in autoimmune disease we are currently experiencing is being caused by too much cleanliness.

It is starting to look like we are not being exposed to enough of the right bacteria very early in life or as we go through our daily lives, thanks to changes in water treatment, how we get our food,... read more

Thoroughly professional; a little scary

By Dennis Littrell - January 26, 2008

I've read a number of books on microbes in recent years, including

Bakalar, Nicholas. Where the Germs Are: A Scientific Safari (2003)
Biddle, Wayne. A Field Guide to Germs, 2nd ed. (1995, 2002)
Ewald, Paul W. Plague Time: How Stealth Infections Cause Cancers, Heart Disease, and other Deadly Ailments (2000)
Heritage, J., and E. G. V. Evans, R. A. Killington Microbiology in Action (1999)
Karlen, Arno. Biography of a Germ (2000)
Murray, Patrick R., et al. Medical Microbiology (2002)
Oldstone, Michael B. Viruses, Plagues, and History (1998)
Shnayerson, Michael and Mark J. Plotkin. The Killers Within: The Deadly Rise of Drug-Resistant Bacteria (2002)
Tierno, Philip M. Jr. The Secret Life of Germs: Observations and Lessons from a Microbe Hunter (2001)

What sets science journalist Jessica Snyder Sachs' book apart from these fine books is the intense detail and focus that she brings to the work and the fact that her book is up... read more

A must-read for the voter, consumer and medical professional

By Peter Hallinan - December 5, 2007

This book is extraordinarily well-researched, well-balanced and well-written. I co-direct a graduate level course on biopharmaceutical innovation and will use this book for the class. However, it is fully accessible at the high school level, and should probably be read then, since the topic is so important, and misunderstandings so widespread.