Product Description
IMAGINE A WORLD WHERE parasites control the minds of their hosts, sending them to their destruction. IMAGINE A WORLD WHERE parasites are masters of chemical warfare and camouflage, able to cloak themselves with their hosts' own molecules. IMAGINE A WORLD WHERE parasites steer the course of evolution, where the majority of species are parasites. WELCOME TO EARTH. For centuries, parasites have lived in nightmares, horror stories, and in the darkest shadows of science. Yet these creatures are among the world's most successful and sophisticated organisms. In Parasite Rex, Carl Zimmer deftly balances the scientific and the disgusting as he takes readers on a fantastic voyage. Traveling from the steamy jungles of Costa Rica to the fetid parasite haven of southern Sudan, Zimmer graphically brings to life how parasites can change DNA, rewire the brain, make men more distrustful and women more outgoing, and turn hosts into the living dead. This thorough, gracefully written book brings parasites out into the open and uncovers what they can teach us about the most fundamental survival tactics in the universe.

Amazon.com Review
Many books provoke a visceral reaction, but few really make you itch. Science writer Carl Zimmer's Parasite Rex does just that, provoking a deliciously creepy sense of paranoia in the reader as it explores a long-misunderstood realm of science. While entomologists love to announce that there are more species of insects than all other animals combined, few parasitologists choose to trump that by reminding us that "parasites may outnumber free-living species four to one." That figure is based on the multicellular chauvinism of the 19th century, which excludes bacteria and fungi from consideration (athlete's foot, anyone?), but Zimmer looks at the E. coli in our guts as well as the worms, flukes, mites, and other critters that earn a healthy living at our expense--and the expense of our domesticated plants and animals. The author traveled to Africa to see firsthand the effects of sleeping sickness and river blindness. He learned from physicians and researchers that the parasites that wreak so much havoc are much more than the simple degenerates we've taken them for. Their complex adaptations to their environments--us--are as lovely and awe-inspiring as any eye or wing. The examples of hormonal and other behavioral control of hosts, causing changes in feeding habits and other life essentials, are chilling when personalized. Zimmer knows his subject well, and his writing, while robust and affecting, never descends to the all-too-easy gross-out. You wouldn't expect to find respect for a tapeworm, but Parasite Rex will show you how beautiful Earth's truly dominant life forms are. --Rob Lightner

CUSTOMER REVIEWS (Average Customer Rating: 4.5 based on 61 reviews)

Reviewing Kindle edition not book content: Flawed and Incomplete edition by Alejandro Frenkel

1 Stars
August 02, 2009
I Purchased the Kindle Edition of this book and am midway through the reading. I am VERY dissatisfied with the edition. The Kindle Edition is not an electronic version of the original book. It is an INCOMPLETE and FLAWED version: 1) Missing Illustrations. This is the most serious problem. Had I known the Kindle Edition does not bring the book's original illustrations, I would have never purchased it. At location 2490, the book says "Sometimes the tree lookes like the tree above. But other times they looked like the tree on next page". There are no ilustrations of trees to be seen in the Kindle Edition. At least I missed these 2 illustration if not more. 2) Punctuation Mistakes. This problem is annoying. At several points in the text (so far more than 10), there are dots where there should't be, missing commas, and some loose characters. Very bad editing, if there was ever some editing for this edition. I never saw so many editing mistakes in a print book. 3) Reference Mistakes. At location 2325, the book stil refers to pages "..something like the tree shown on page 124". Alas, there are no pages in the Kindle Editions, but locations. This is my first book purchase for the Kindle DX, and am seriously dissapointed. It seems that in the hurry to publish Kindle titles, and perhaps the urge to keep book sizes small to minimize wireless delivery costs, the Kindle editions are very poor. For the less than dollar difference between the Kindle Edition and the paperback, it seems that it still makes better sense to get the paperback, at least in books with illustrations. On the positive side for Amazon, I wrote to customer service and got a refund in less than 4 hours (am still surprised with the speed they answered!) I will go for the print version. Oh, and the book is marvelous so far, very interesting and superbly written!

Outstanding science writing by Elliott Bignell (Sargans, Switzerland)

5 Stars
April 12, 2009
It's very rare these days that I encounter popular science writing that contains much that is truly new or surprising. Carl manages to provide both, and in a field where thought I was not that ignorant to begin with, to boot. I once read that if the only visible matter in the Universe were parasites, you would still be able to make out the ghostly shapes of people moving around. That was an arresting enough thought at the time, but once you've read Zimmer's book that's the way the world actually looks! It's become better known in recent years that parasitism may be a driving force in evolution. The revelation that 8 of 10 species in some way parasitise others can only add force to this proposition. What Zimmer brings across with force and élan, however, is the sheer ubiquity, diversity and evolutionary ingenuity of these usually unwelcome partnerships. Just how deep these relationships go is a matter of some dispute. Zimmer documents a range of species, such as malaria, whose agents actually hide within cells - more properly "corpuscles" in this specific instance - of the host. Lyn Margulis' theory that cell sub-structures stem from symbiotic bacteria, now widely recognised, acquires a new light and sense when one considers such parasites. Ultimately, we may ourselves be colonies of ancient parasites grown to domestication. "Parasite" is a word with negative political and social loadings, and at the same time one that most of us in the West no longer associate with a biological scourge. We in the West enjoy a rare privilege, as most people in the world, and almost all other organisms, suffer from multiple parasites. Malaria, increasingly drug-resistant, still kills around a million a year and is recognised as a serious hindrance to development, while underdeveloped countries face a barrage of parasitism, including flukes, tapeworms, protozoa, ticks, mites, lice, fleas and mosquitoes. Bed bugs are allegedly coming back in a big way in the UK, along the Gatwick-Heathrow airport corridor. We are never far away from parasites. Even in parts of the West, the majority of people carry Toxoplasma - harmless enough until pregnancy or immune compromise makes one vulnerable to its periodic immune-priming attacks. It literally keeps our immune system fit in order to keep its host alive - until something goes wrong. Parasites, not to put too fine a point on it, are still important, and deserve a book of this quality to draw attention to their sterling efforts to remain indestructible. If you didn't realise that before, you'll realise it after reading. No parasite has ever been eradicated, although guinea worm may now be on the brink. They are evolution's survivors, and evolution's drivers. It is an overworked cliché that a book will change the way you see the world. In this case, the cliché is perfectly appropriate. As the author reports happened to him while researching in Africa, it makes the people around you appear to be transparent constellations of hitherto unseen companions. A unique accomplishment, written with clarity and passion.

Bizarre world, bizarre creatures by Maranda M. Richardson

5 Stars
April 03, 2009
Parasite Rex, a title that is inspired by some of the earth's most fear and, surprisingly, awe inducing creatures. This book has got it all--both the gruesome and disgusting facts along with the make-one-stop-and-ponder ones as well. What made this book such a good read was that it incorporated both the facts but an interesting story as well. It read as an adventure, the reader being guided by Zimmer through the journey that he took to discover the many different parasites and their individual lifestyles. The start of the book is with how the parasites got their claim to fame and how the term parasite has gained the negative connotation. Next the reader is presented with numerous tales that different parasites embark on. For example, one learns about Trichinella and how parasites find one another. The reader is told to, "Apply the Fantastic Voyage method: It would be as if you were thrown down into a dark cavernous tunnel twelve miles long, lined on all sides with slippery, tightly packed, man-sized mushrooms,"(29). Knowing that at the end of the journey, the parasite miraculously does manage to find another of its own kind. More intriguing knowledge is spread as the reader continues and learns that parasites are not just little worms that suck the blood out of you. Parasites are brilliant masterminds that can turn their host into a personal puppet, and themselves take the role as the puppet master. Some parasites can transform male crabs, virtually into females, so the parasite has a place for its eggs, which place is the new space it created in the male body. Parasites can even make pill bugs crawl over lighter colored gravel, making them more susceptible to being eaten by a bird, the thing that the parasite wants to happen. Even with all of the horror stories that are told and facts that are laid out, the reader has the opportunity to see how parasites positively affect different ecological systems and the important role that they play in keeping everything in line. This book will change how one sees the world, how one can look at an animal and not notice it for the animal that it is but rather, wonder what kind of parasite it is plagued with. After all, if one stops to ponder on it, "It is we who are the parasites, and the Earth the host," (245).

Planet of the Parasites by PB&J (New Mexico)

5 Stars
April 03, 2009
What comes to your mind when you think of the word "parasite"? Before reading Parasite Rex, I would have only thought of tapeworms. This book opened my eyes to a whole new dimension. I had once thought that this world was dominated by arthropods and vertebrates, however, Parasite Rex taught me that there is a whole another world that isn't visible to the eye. That world belongs to "parasites". This book is a "must read" for everyone, even if you think you don't enjoy, or understand biology. Carl Zimmer has written this book in a way that is easy to read and easy to follow. Zimmer takes you through a journey of how parasites came to be known and how Parisitology came about. Did you know that scientists had used prisoners on death row as lab subjects in their experiments with parasites? Well, it really did occur and this book reveals the whole story of what happened. Parasites are much more powerful than we think. Parasite Rex reveals that there are many parasites capable of controlling and changing their host for the benefit of the parasite. This can range from basically changing the sex of the host to causing the host's body to change colors. Zimmer tells of a parasite that changes the swimming pattern of a fish that makes it more prone to getting caught and eaten by a bird. You might think, why would it do that? Well, many parasites start out in an "intermediate host", and need to reach it's final host in order to grow into a sexually mature organism. An intermediate host can range from snails, frogs, to pigs and cows. The parasite life cycle is truly incredible. The influence of parasites are all around us. I'm sure that you have heard of someone being called a "parasite' before or have seen the influence of parasites in the movies. Zimmer discusses numerous motion pictures that are influenced by parasites in this book. The main message that I believe Zimmer wants to portray is that parasites are more important than we think. They infect plants, animals, and humans. Diseases such as malaria and elephantiasis which have killed millions of people are caused by these incredible organisms. Parasites are so important to this world that I have named this review " Planet of the Parasites". This book is incredible and I recommend it to everyone. It's definitely worth your money. So get it today!

Learn From the Masters by James East (Orlando, FL)

4 Stars
October 05, 2008
As the author ends his tale from this introductory look into the world of parasites, "If we want to succeed as parasites, we need to learn from the masters." Yes, from one ecological point of view, the two-legged race acts as if it is a parasite. If true, then we can indeed learn a lot from these microscopic fellows that have a few hundred million years head start, up or down, the evolutionary path :) Besides just the introduction of, let us say, the gross aspects of parasites, there are also quite a few benefits to many types parasites in the animal kingdom. As such and from my perspective, the highlight of this fine effort was in the last 1/3 of the book with Chapters 6 (Evolution From Within), Chapters 7 (The Two-Legged Host), and Chapters 8 (How To Live In A Parasitic World). Here we learn about some of those parasitic benefits. While reading, I wished that the chapters went on further and gave me more anecdotes. Nevertheless, it would appear that the right balance of either the small or large ecosystem can benefit with less pesticides if we indeed learn from the parasites.

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