olosta's review against another edition
challenging
informative
inspiring
reflective
medium-paced
4.25
koelsi's review against another edition
informative
lighthearted
medium-paced
4.75
I really enjoyed this read. This book is able to approach the complex workings of the immune system in a friendly manner. You don't even need to have taken high school biology to get into this book! By the end of the book, you'll understand basics of it. Need to read this before going into university textbooks which are much more dense.
The way they gradually add in the complexities makes it really easy to digest the information. The analagies used and metaphors used really helped me understand the workings of the immune system. I wished I read this book before taking my uni classes in immunology.
The way they gradually add in the complexities makes it really easy to digest the information. The analagies used and metaphors used really helped me understand the workings of the immune system. I wished I read this book before taking my uni classes in immunology.
liomane's review against another edition
4.0
Don't you just live it when a book is easy to understand and just gets straight to the point? A fantastic introduction to the immune system for beginners like me.
applekern's review against another edition
5.0
Absolute must-read for anyone that enjoys Kurzgesagt. Or maybe actually everyone.
Really entertaining and educating.
Really entertaining and educating.
maddyb001's review against another edition
4.0
A gorgeous example of understandable science literature. His stories and metaphors made the complicated immune system comprehendible and even hilarious.
ladamic's review against another edition
4.0
The subject is fascinating and the illustrations vibrant. There is some unnecessary imagery (more than once we are to imagine people being shot in the head), but it's less dark than the Kurzgesagt videos usually are. I mention this because I read the book with my 12 year old son, who is the perfect audience for this kind of deep-dive, educational book.
llmacrae's review against another edition
5.0
“Most of us never really stop to ask: What even is our immune system? Second only to the human brain in its complexity, it is one of the oldest and most critical facets of life on Earth. Without it, you would die within days.”
And also, if it goes wrong, it can kill you in about fifteen minutes.
So there’s that.
I love fantasy. It is my perfect escape and often my go-to for a new book. Earlier this year, I discovered I like some flavours of sci-fi, too.
Outside of reading, documentaries are my all-time favourite things to watch. The sciences, in particular, especially anything to do with the natural world. Biology and psychology are two of my favourite subjects and I love learning more about how we work and how the world works.
This fantastic book merges all three loves into something absolutely riveting. It’s made by the creator of Kurzgesagt - In a Nutshell, which is one my my favourite YouTube channels of all time, and makes already interesting science-y stuff EVEN more interesting - especially with easy to understand concepts, palatable language, and a good dose of humour.
I do have an AS level in Biology and I knew the basics of cells and our immune system, but this absolutely fabulous book taught me so much more. As it repeatedly says, everything in the book is simplified and made easier for anyone to pick up and understand. The complexity of the immune system and immunology as a branch of science cannot be overstated.
It was such an incredible journey.
It doesn’t read like a novel, but the way it is written is a very storytelling style, which is highly enjoyable and engaging. The illustrations are wonderful, and if you have seen any of the Kurzgesagt videos, they’ll be familiar. They also work well to break up the text and show more insight as to what’s being discussed.
I actually took a break from a dense, epic fantasy to read this. That is how engaging the book is despite the very complicated subject matter. So please do not be intimidated by the subject matter or the fact it is non-fiction!
I had no idea about so many of the concepts, and even the ones I had a passing familiarity with were greatly expanded. Our immune system is something I feel more of us should know more about, and this book is a great way to bridge that gap. It’s something I think people would love to read and perhaps should read to learn more about what goes on inside of us.
There were a ridiculous amount of poignant lines, paragraphs (and entire chapters, to be fair), and it is laid out in an exciting, easy-to-understand, way that leads easily from one thing to the next.
One of the many footnotes that particularly struck a chord with me was:
“What is generally troubling about these appeals to naturalism is the idea itself, that something natural is somehow better. Nature does not care about you or any individual at all. Your brain and body and immune system are built on the bones of billions of your would-be ancestors who were not fast enough to escape a lion, were killed by a mild infection, or were just a little worse at pulling the nutrients from their food.
Nature gave us charming diseases like smallpox, cancer, rabies, and parasitic worms that feast on the eyes of your children. Our ancestors fought tooth and nail to build a different world for themselves, a world without all this suffering and pain and horror. And consequently we should celebrate and marvel at the enormous progress we’ve made as a species.
While we obviously still have a long way to go and the modern world has a lot of downsides, the notion that “natural is better” is something only people who are not actually living in nature can say, and who have forgotten why our ancestors worked so hard to escape it.”
Overall, a fantastic read. I’ve loved the Kurzgesagt channel for a number of years, and when I saw they were releasing a book, I absolutely wanted to support it. Now I’m recovering from a week-long illness, it felt quite apt to being reading this!
Highly, highly recommend both this, and the YouTube channel!
And also, if it goes wrong, it can kill you in about fifteen minutes.
So there’s that.
I love fantasy. It is my perfect escape and often my go-to for a new book. Earlier this year, I discovered I like some flavours of sci-fi, too.
Outside of reading, documentaries are my all-time favourite things to watch. The sciences, in particular, especially anything to do with the natural world. Biology and psychology are two of my favourite subjects and I love learning more about how we work and how the world works.
This fantastic book merges all three loves into something absolutely riveting. It’s made by the creator of Kurzgesagt - In a Nutshell, which is one my my favourite YouTube channels of all time, and makes already interesting science-y stuff EVEN more interesting - especially with easy to understand concepts, palatable language, and a good dose of humour.
I do have an AS level in Biology and I knew the basics of cells and our immune system, but this absolutely fabulous book taught me so much more. As it repeatedly says, everything in the book is simplified and made easier for anyone to pick up and understand. The complexity of the immune system and immunology as a branch of science cannot be overstated.
It was such an incredible journey.
It doesn’t read like a novel, but the way it is written is a very storytelling style, which is highly enjoyable and engaging. The illustrations are wonderful, and if you have seen any of the Kurzgesagt videos, they’ll be familiar. They also work well to break up the text and show more insight as to what’s being discussed.
I actually took a break from a dense, epic fantasy to read this. That is how engaging the book is despite the very complicated subject matter. So please do not be intimidated by the subject matter or the fact it is non-fiction!
I had no idea about so many of the concepts, and even the ones I had a passing familiarity with were greatly expanded. Our immune system is something I feel more of us should know more about, and this book is a great way to bridge that gap. It’s something I think people would love to read and perhaps should read to learn more about what goes on inside of us.
There were a ridiculous amount of poignant lines, paragraphs (and entire chapters, to be fair), and it is laid out in an exciting, easy-to-understand, way that leads easily from one thing to the next.
One of the many footnotes that particularly struck a chord with me was:
“What is generally troubling about these appeals to naturalism is the idea itself, that something natural is somehow better. Nature does not care about you or any individual at all. Your brain and body and immune system are built on the bones of billions of your would-be ancestors who were not fast enough to escape a lion, were killed by a mild infection, or were just a little worse at pulling the nutrients from their food.
Nature gave us charming diseases like smallpox, cancer, rabies, and parasitic worms that feast on the eyes of your children. Our ancestors fought tooth and nail to build a different world for themselves, a world without all this suffering and pain and horror. And consequently we should celebrate and marvel at the enormous progress we’ve made as a species.
While we obviously still have a long way to go and the modern world has a lot of downsides, the notion that “natural is better” is something only people who are not actually living in nature can say, and who have forgotten why our ancestors worked so hard to escape it.”
Overall, a fantastic read. I’ve loved the Kurzgesagt channel for a number of years, and when I saw they were releasing a book, I absolutely wanted to support it. Now I’m recovering from a week-long illness, it felt quite apt to being reading this!
Highly, highly recommend both this, and the YouTube channel!
myc_w's review against another edition
5.0
So Kurzgesagt: In a Nutshell is one of my favorite education channels on YouTube, particularly for science content. When I learned founder Philipp Dettmer was writing a book on the immune system, it was instantly on my to-read list. And I have to say, I was absolutely not disappointed. Immune is a wonderfully clear and accessible introduction to an area of science that is incredibly complicated and dense, especially for laypeople. It’s also a particularly timely topic given the relevance to our wider conversations today in light of the coronavirus pandemic.
Dettmer uses clever analogies to simplify complex ideas without ever being too dramatically reductive or talking down to the reader. He also acknowledges the ever growing boundaries of knowledge and points of debate in the field. In short, this is one of the very best works of popular science I have ever read. The book goes out of its way to acknowledge its shortcomings, describe its intents, and explain the basics to non-experts while maintaining a high degree of fidelity to the subject. Are you going to come away from this an expert? Of course not. Will you be more informed about the workings of your body and the functions of the immune system? Absolutely. Really what this does is make it clear that there is so much very much more to know about the subject.
One of my favorite things about the book is it’s self awareness. Dettmer criticizes the anthropomorphizing of cells and the immune system early on, but also acknowledges the usefulness (and commonality) of that analogy, so he carefully leans into it. Humor is used to balance the almost horror-like descriptions of our bodies and cellular biologies. The language and naming conventions of biochemistry and immunology are rightly portrayed as ridiculous when they cause confusion, but then also explained in over-the top ridiculous ways (MHC Class II receptors as hotdog buns and antigens as hotdogs was a favorite of mine). Basically, many of the sharp edges are softened for our consumption and it makes it not only accessible, but enjoyable to read.
If you are interested in popular science, I highly recommend this book. If you aren’t, but you’re a layperson and something has piqued your interest in the immune system (COVID, allergies, autoimmune disorders, etc.), I highly recommend this book. If you’re trained in the field, I’d still think there’s value here. Obviously the content wouldn’t be new, but I’d still recommend this book as an excellent representation of how to communicate incredibly difficult and detailed topics to laypeople. It’s not only a a good first read, but it’s a book that will benefit from re-readings.
Dettmer uses clever analogies to simplify complex ideas without ever being too dramatically reductive or talking down to the reader. He also acknowledges the ever growing boundaries of knowledge and points of debate in the field. In short, this is one of the very best works of popular science I have ever read. The book goes out of its way to acknowledge its shortcomings, describe its intents, and explain the basics to non-experts while maintaining a high degree of fidelity to the subject. Are you going to come away from this an expert? Of course not. Will you be more informed about the workings of your body and the functions of the immune system? Absolutely. Really what this does is make it clear that there is so much very much more to know about the subject.
One of my favorite things about the book is it’s self awareness. Dettmer criticizes the anthropomorphizing of cells and the immune system early on, but also acknowledges the usefulness (and commonality) of that analogy, so he carefully leans into it. Humor is used to balance the almost horror-like descriptions of our bodies and cellular biologies. The language and naming conventions of biochemistry and immunology are rightly portrayed as ridiculous when they cause confusion, but then also explained in over-the top ridiculous ways (MHC Class II receptors as hotdog buns and antigens as hotdogs was a favorite of mine). Basically, many of the sharp edges are softened for our consumption and it makes it not only accessible, but enjoyable to read.
If you are interested in popular science, I highly recommend this book. If you aren’t, but you’re a layperson and something has piqued your interest in the immune system (COVID, allergies, autoimmune disorders, etc.), I highly recommend this book. If you’re trained in the field, I’d still think there’s value here. Obviously the content wouldn’t be new, but I’d still recommend this book as an excellent representation of how to communicate incredibly difficult and detailed topics to laypeople. It’s not only a a good first read, but it’s a book that will benefit from re-readings.