Dunn (applied ecology, North Carolina State Univ.;
Every Living Thing) takes readers on an entertaining tour of the biodiversity found in one of the fastest-growing biomes: indoors, identifying some 200,000-plus species that share our homes. While pathogens have been studied, many more potentially beneficial species remain virtually unknown. Dunn has looked for life-forms in basements, showerheads, drains, drywall, windowsills, light fixtures, behind toilets, and under beds. Ever curious, the author imagines the benefit of something as simple as a camel cricket to humanity and then constructs experiments to get the answers. Overseeing a study of sourdough bread baking, he concluded that each sourdough starter was slightly different and contained microbes from the hands of the baker, influencing its flavor. Dunn cautions that sterilizing everything means losing valuable life-forms. He encourages readers to become aware of the wondrous life all around us.
VERDICT This book will be enjoyed by biologists but also general readers with an appreciation for nature.
—Caren Nichter, Univ. of Tennessee at Martin
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