"Immune"

 

Not so mysterious after reading this book

"Immune" is a book about, well, the immune system, created by the head writer of Kurzgesagt. They animate some of my favorite science videos on the internet, so this book was a day one buy for me.

The human immune system is an incredibly complicated piece of biology, with billions of specialized cells that respond in exquisite harmony to extremely specialized circumstances. Dettmer introduces important systems with creative and memorable metaphors: the adaptive immune system as the universe's largest library, the thymus as the toughest university in the world with a 98% failure rate, and so on. As this cast of characters is introduced, we quickly see them in action as "Immune" walks us through the immune system's response to bacterial infections, viruses, vaccines, and more.

Verdict: While I can't speak to its scientific accuracy, "Immune" succeeds at describing the complexity of human biology in an approachable way that rewards the reader's curiosity and sense of wonder. Recommended.