Survival of the Sickest

This turned out to be an utterly fascinating book! I had been thinking, from its title, that the book would be about disease. It is, however, about something else entirely - how evolution and our genetic make-up are closely intertwined. Based on the modern research (Okay, I'll admit I haven't read much about DNA since nursing school), I was astounded by recent discoveries that show how evolution is often based on genetic traits acquired not by heredity, but by environment. This book and the subject are so vast that the ideas could be overwhelming. The author takes this subject in a stride and uses an easy-going and often humorous way of presenting what could otherwise be dry material. Here is one man I'd love to have as a college show more professor! I must say that, although I might not later remember the technical details of this book, I thoroughly enjoyed its presentation. show less

Survival of the Sickest gives an interesting and insightful look into disease and evolution, starting with questions about how we could evolve these genetic diseases that seem to reduce our ability to survive as individuals. The authors cover a lot of strange ideas and surprising theories that researchers have produced, whether it's stories about frozen frogs, jumping jeans, stressed out rat moms, or aquatic apes... Somehow, they manage to make the book feel more like a series of really fascinating stories you might tell at a party, even though there's a good chunk of a first year biology course embedded in the stories. This is really popular science at its best, encouraging us to think in new ways and be fascinated by the world around us.

Aquatic apes. Parasites that exhibit mind control over their hosts, forcing them to commit suicide. The reason why a cold lets you go to work but malaria knocks you flat on your back. Benefits of tanning. How your ancestors survived the plague, and why that very reason might kill you in middle age. Fascinating stuff. Do not, I repeat, do not borrow this book from the library. You will want to read it again. Consider it an investment in your sanity for the next time you get the flu.

This book is AWESOME. It's like Freakonomics, only better because it focuses on nerdy genetics-related topics without being inapproachable. I actually had to read this book for school, but it's fascinating--and though I came into this book with a decent working knowledge of genetics (which was really interesting, since it addressed some concepts--jumping genes, using evolution to our advantage to cause viruses to become less virulent, etc.--that challenge some common teachings in Biology 101), I think this book would still be accessible without that knowledge.

While reading this book, I was constantly calling up friends to tell them, "This is so cool! Did you know...?" Absolutely fascinating book on why humans evolved diseases. Very highly recommended.

It's a light look at a variety of diseases and why it would be that they would continue to survive and perpetuate their genes. In the end it leaves a lot of questions, which is only right. Science often hasn't got a clue and a lot of this book is as much speculation as fact, but it admits this.

Survival of the Sickest explores the connections between evolution, disease, and current human health. This book is extremely interesting and engaging, despite the cheesey puns. However, I had hoped for more - more science/medical details, more examples of the evolution-disease-health connections. The book was too short and brief!