The Hidden Half of Nature: The Microbial Roots of Life and Health (Paperback)

The Hidden Half of Nature: The Microbial Roots of Life and Health By David R. Montgomery, Anne Biklé Cover Image
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Description


"Sure to become a game-changing guide to the future of good food and healthy landscapes." —Dan Barber, chef and author of The Third Plate


Prepare to set aside what you think you know about yourself and microbes. The Hidden Half of Nature reveals why good health—for people and for plants—depends on Earth’s smallest creatures. Restoring life to their barren yard and recovering from a health crisis, David R. Montgomery and Anne Biklé discover astounding parallels between the botanical world and our own bodies. From garden to gut, they show why cultivating beneficial microbiomes holds the key to transforming agriculture and medicine.



About the Author


David R. Montgomery is a professor at the University of Washington and a 2008 MacArthur Fellow.

Anne Biklé is a biologist and environmental planner. Her career spans the fields of environmental stewardship, habitat restoration, and public health. The Hidden Half of Nature is her first book.

Praise For…


A great read, opening up for nonscientists the microbial world that underlies all life. You will see your body and the world around you in exciting new ways.
— Sandor Ellix Katz, author of The Art of Fermentation

Reads like a fast-paced novel but tells the true story of the workings of soils, and even our own bodies.
— Neil Shubin, author of The Universe Within

[A] transformative read.
— Tom Philpott - Mother Jones

[A] beautifully synthesized scientific memoir.
— Barbara Kiser - Nature

Montgomery and Biklé argue that when we farm and when we eat, we’re feeding a diverse community of microorganisms. This book is sure to become a game-changing guide to the future of good food and healthy landscapes.
— Dan Barber, chef and author of The Third Plate

An ingenious idea! The Hidden Half of Nature draws a straight line from the microbes that live in healthy soil to those that live in healthy guts, skillfully blending the personal and the scientific. This is a must-read for anyone concerned with their own health.

— Amy Stewart, author of The Drunken Botanist

Amazingly detailed and well-researched. … [The Hidden Half of Nature] lays out the beautiful connection between the microbial garden in our bodies and the microbial garden in the Earth.

— Sally Peterson - Oregon Live

One of the year’s best books on gardens and health.
— Jim McCausland - Sunset Magazine

The Hidden Half of Nature offers a wonderfully fresh and exquisitely informed approach that could change how we relate to ourselves, our diets, our gardens and our world.

— Tim McNulty - Seattle Times

A stunningly clever book that connects the tiny dots of the microbial world. I will never ignore my microbes again.
— Kirk Johnson, Sant Director, Smithsonian National Museum of Natural History

A wonderful read! The Hidden Half of Nature not only explores the workings of the microbial world, but also the people and the methods used to advance our knowledge of it.

— Jeff Lowenfels, author of the Teaming With series


Product Details
ISBN: 9780393353372
ISBN-10: 0393353370
Publisher: W. W. Norton & Company
Publication Date: November 15th, 2016
Pages: 320
Language: English