Short Synopsis
A critically important and startling look at the harmful effects of overusing antibiotics from the field's leading expert.

Full Synopsis
Tracing one scientist's journey toward understanding the crucial importance of the microbiome, this revolutionary book will take listeners to the forefront of trail-blazing research while revealing the damage that overuse of antibiotics is doing to our health: contributing to the rise of obesity, asthma, diabetes, and certain forms of cancer.

In Missing Microbes, Dr. Martin J. Blaser invites us into the wilds of the human microbiome, where for hundreds of thousands of years bacterial and human cells have existed in a peaceful symbiosis that is responsible for the health and equilibrium of our body. Now this invisible eden is being irrevocably damaged by some of our most revered medical advances—antibiotics—threatening the extinction of our irreplaceable microbes with terrible health consequences.

Taking us into both the lab and deep into the fields where these troubling effects can be witnessed firsthand, Blaser not only provides cutting-edge evidence for the adverse effects of antibiotics, he tells us what we can do to avoid even more catastrophic health problems in the future.

"An engrossing examination of the relatively unheralded yet dominant form of life on Earth." ---Publishers Weekly Starred Review

"Missing Microbes is a masterful work of preventative health and superb science writing." ---Booklist Starred Review

"Blaser explains even the most complicated scientific and medical concepts with straightforward clarity." ---Library Journal Starred Review

"Patrick Lawler is a clear and lively reader." ---Library Journal Audio Review

"Narrator Lawlor has his work cut out for him with the many, often difficult-to-pronounce names of bacteria and drugs--- all of which he delivers correctly and distinctly." ---Booklist Audio Review

Amazon Bestseller

Publishers Weekly Review

Booklist Review

Library Journal Review