The Hidden Half of Nature cover art

The Hidden Half of Nature

The Microbial Roots of Life and Health

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The Hidden Half of Nature

By: David R. Montgomery, Anne Bikle
Narrated by: LJ Ganser
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About this listen

A riveting exploration of how microbes are transforming the way we see nature and ourselves - and could revolutionize agriculture and medicine.

Prepare to set aside what you think you know about yourself and microbes. Good health - for people and for plants - depends on Earth's smallest creatures. The Hidden Half of Nature tells the story of our tangled relationship with microbes and their potential to revolutionize agriculture and medicine, from garden to gut.

When David R. Montgomery and Anne Biklé decide to restore life into their barren yard by creating a garden, dead dirt threatens their dream. As a cure, they feed their soil a steady diet of organic matter. The results impress them. In short order, the much-maligned microbes transform their bleak yard into a flourishing Eden. Beneath their feet, beneficial microbes and plant roots continuously exchange a vast array of essential compounds. The authors soon learn that this miniaturized commerce is central to botanical life's master strategy for defense and health.

They are abruptly plunged further into investigating microbes when Biklé is diagnosed with cancer. Here, they discover an unsettling truth. An armada of bacteria (our microbiome) sails the seas of our gut, enabling our immune system to sort microbial friends from foes. But when our gut microbiome goes awry, our health can go with it. The authors also discover startling insights into the similarities between plant roots and the human gut.

We are not what we eat. We are all - for better or worse - the products of what our microbes eat. This leads to a radical reconceptualization of our relationship to the natural world: By cultivating beneficial microbes, we can rebuild soil fertility and help turn back the modern plague of chronic diseases. The Hidden Half of Nature reveals how to transform agriculture and medicine - by merging the mind of an ecologist with the care of a gardener and the skill of a doctor.

©2016 David R. Montgomery and Anne Bikle (P)2015 Audible, Inc.
Agricultural & Food Sciences Biology Ecology Physical Illness & Disease Gardening Bacteria Genetics

What listeners say about The Hidden Half of Nature

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    5 out of 5 stars

Brilliant info,

this information needs to be taught in schools. Boot out the Marxists and bring in the Microbes! lol

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Scientific rigour and accessible story telling

Well researched, well written. Stories are told in an accessible way with a hint of the author's academic backgrounds poking through.

Must read for anyone interested in soils, plants and human health. Makes a point of exploring the connections between these disparate fields, which is more pertinent than ever.

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Absolutely mindblowing

From the microbes in our soil to the microbes in out microbiome, this book does an excellent job of breaking down what the science is telling us about each field - as well as the lick between the two - while even remaining accessible to the layperson. Narrator is a great orator as well. Highly recommend!

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Fantastic book!

Well written, well narrated. A great book that is easy to immerse yourself in that explores the timeline of human knowledge about microbes - giving plenty of science backed examples of the incredible ways that microbes can shape so much of our lives. I highly recommend this book!!
Narration is brilliant too!

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    3 out of 5 stars

Half biology lesson part soil

struggled to listen to it personally as all of the science section I already know. overall flow was lacking

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