From the Bookshelf of Science and Inquiry…

Immune: a Journey into the Mysterious System that Keeps You Alive

Philipp Dettmer

Start date: June 1, 2022

Finish date: June 30, 2022

Discussion: Book Club 2022

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Jul 17, 2022 aPriL does feral sometimes rated it it was amazing

Shelves: art-photography, science, favorites, a-jack-in-the-box-pop-surprise, non-fiction, war-war-war-and-more-war

I loved “Immune” by Philipp Dettmer! Not only did he simplify an extremely complex subject of human biology into a 101 introduction, he does so often with military-movie battleground imagery. These snarky word images brought me to immediate understanding of a chemical or biological activity of a cell. It also fixed knowledge in my mind the way a memory palace works. I know some readers do not like snarky humor, but for me, seeing a T-cell as a Navy Seal with either binoculars or a knife or a Neu I loved “Immune” by Philipp Dettmer! Not only did he simplify an extremely complex subject of human biology into a 101 introduction, he does so often with military-movie battleground imagery. These snarky word images brought me to immediate understanding of a chemical or biological activity of a cell. It also fixed knowledge in my mind the way a memory palace works. I know some readers do not like snarky humor, but for me, seeing a T-cell as a Navy Seal with either binoculars or a knife or a Neutrophil as a serial killer was WAY good for immediate comprehension! But no worries, gentle reader, the author never veered into fantasy or exaggeration (not very much exaggeration, given the quick lethality of our immune system when it runs wild - see chapter 38 “When the Immune System is Too Aggressive: Allergies”) without a firm foundation of truth in the clarification of functions and purposes of the various cell types.

At first, the book appears to talk down to readers, but soon I saw this was a good thing. The immune system consists of very complex networks with a variety of cells doing different jobs. Dettmer describes the pieces of the immune system in a logical manner. Then, he pulls everything together to show how each piece works with the other segments in the entire human immune system. It was like learning the parts of a car engine (cylinder, air filter, distributor, valve train, lubrication), then having all of those parts pulled together in the later chapters - the result of which is a perfectly-timed running engine! Except when things go wrong - cancer, allergies, viruses which defeat our immune systems like AIDS - Dettmer explains why the immune system fails when it does.

I have copied the book blurb below because it is accurate:

”A gorgeously illustrated deep dive into the immune system that will forever change how you think about your body, from the creator of the popular science YouTube channel Kurzgesagt—In a Nutshell

You wake up and feel a tickle in your throat. Your head hurts. You're mildly annoyed as you get the kids ready for school and dress for work yourself. Meanwhile, an epic war is being fought, just below your skin. Millions are fighting and dying for you to be able to complain as you head out the door.

So what, exactly, is your 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. In Immune, Philipp Dettmer, the brains behind the most popular science channel on YouTube, takes readers on a journey through the fortress of the human body and its defenses. There is a constant battle of staggering scale raging within us, full of stories of invasion, strategy, defeat, and noble self-sacrifice. In fact, in the time you've been reading this, your immune system has probably identified and eradicated a cancer cell that started to grow in your body.

Each chapter delves into an element of the immune system, including defenses like antibodies and inflammation as well as threats like bacteria, allergies, and cancer, as Dettmer reveals why boosting your immune system is actually nonsense, how parasites sneak their way past your body's defenses, how viruses work, and what goes on in your wounds when you cut yourself.

Enlivened by engaging graphics and immersive descriptions, Immune turns one of the most intricate, interconnected, and confusing subjects—immunology—into a gripping adventure through an astonishing alien landscape. Immune is a vital and remarkably fun crash course in what is arguably, and increasingly, the most important system in the body.”

Dettmer was diagnosed with cancer at age thirty-two. He underwent operations and chemotherapy. Having cancer led him to read science articles, which led him to beginning his new career as a science communicator/writer. He started a YouTube channel called Kurzgesagt which is dedicated to making information easy to understand. The Kurzgesagt team is now over forty people, and the channel has over fourteen million subscribers (me too). Here is a link to three of the videos on his channel:

https://youtu.be/LmpuerlbJu0

https://youtu.be/lXfEK8G8CUI

https://youtu.be/BSypUV6QUNw

To write this book, he consulted with scientists and experts in immunology whom he names in an Acknowledgements section. The book also has an extensive Index section. ...more

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