Parasites: tales of humanity's most unwelcome guests

Hidden away within living tissues, parasites are all around us--and inside us. Yet, despite their unsavory characteristics, as we find in this compulsively readable book, parasites have played an enormous role in civilizations through time and around the globe. Parasites: Tales of Humanity's Most Unwelcome Guests puts amoebae, roundworms, tapeworms, mites, and others at the center of the action as human cultures have evolved and declined. It shows their role in exploration, war, and even terrorist plots, often through an unpredictable ripple effect. It reveals them as invisible threats in our f.;Cover; CONTENTS; LIST OF ILLUSTRATIONS; ACKNOWLEDGMENTS; AUTHOR'S NOTE; INTRODUCTION; ONE: AMBUSH; TWO: MARKET OF PERIL; THREE: DRINKING-WATER ADVISORY; FOUR: ILLEGAL ALIENS; FIVE: PARASITES IN CONTROL; SIX: IN THE HOUSE OF MIRRORS; SEVEN: THE PARASITE FELONIES; EIGHT: EMERGING PARASITES; NINE: PARASITE EXTINCTION; EPILOGUE; NOTES; SELECTED BIBLIOGRAPHY AND ADDITIONAL READING; INDEX.