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It’s a good time to learn the immune system—and this is the particular book for it

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If ever there was a moment to brush up on your knowledge of the immune system, this is that moment. (Okay, March-April 2020 may have been preferable, but you can still catch up. ) And Immune is the perfect vehicle in order to help you do that. This book is phenomenal. It is engaging, it is informative, it is extremely clear and well-organized, it will be helpful and illuminating and relevant and eye-opening and incredibly timely. And it is beautiful. Go get it and read it.

With enthusiasm

Philipp Dettmer is not an immunologist. He is a self-described “immune system enthusiast. ” But his is no dilettantish, idle intellectual curiosity. He comes by his enthusiasm honestly, as he has had more intimate run-ins with his own immune system than anyone would like. He developed a food allergy because an adult that sent him to the hospital with shock, and he had cancer at age 32 and had to be able to undergo chemotherapy.

What he is, is an information designer. He founded Kurzgesagt-In a Nutshell , one of the largest science channels on YouTube, which exists for you to explain complex ideas in an accessible, holistic manner. But the immune system is incredibly, ridiculously, notoriously complex . So much so that even Dettmer, who has dedicated his career to help making obtuse scientific information accessible, decided that the best way towards introduce immunity was in book form rather than through his online videos. For, an introduction is usually all the book is, since he tells you repeatedly; it’s just a cursory overview associated with the whole intensely complicated affair. There are sporadic disclaimers like this one:

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