NEW YORK TIMES BESTSELLER

You wake up feeling a tickle in your throat. Your head hurts. You feel somewhat irritated as you prepare the kids for school and get ready for work. Meanwhile, an epic battle is being fought right beneath your skin. Millions are fighting and dying for your sake, so you can grumble as you get ready to leave the house.

So, what exactly is your immune system? It is one of the oldest and most critical expressions of life on the planet; only the human brain is more complex. Without it, you would die within days. In this book, Philippe Dettmer, the creator of the popular scientific YouTube channel "Kurzgesagt - In A Nutshell," takes his readers on a journey through the fortress of the human body and its defenses.

A constant battle on an unimaginable scale is waged within us, filled with stories of invasions, strategy, ultimate triumph, and noble self-sacrifice. In fact, as you were reading these lines, your immune system likely identified and neutralized a cancer cell that had begun to grow inside you.

Each chapter delves deeply into a feature of the immune system, discussing defense mechanisms like antibodies and inflammation, threats like bacteria, viruses, allergies, and cancer, while Dettmer explains why the phrase "boost your immune system" is a chimera, how parasites slip past our body's defenses, how viruses work (including the coronavirus), and what exactly happens to our wound when we get cut.

With colorful illustrations and excellent descriptions that bring it to life, The Immune System transforms one of the most complex subjects into an exciting adventure.

WHAT THE PRESS SAYS

The Immune System reads like an exciting science fiction novel [...]. When I reached the end of the book, I knew my own body better than ever [...]. A true gift that will pique all our interests. Tim Urban, author, creator of the blog Wait But Why

An extremely interesting and essential read, especially following the outbreak of the global Covid-19 pandemic. Library Journal

A tour of the immune system that will forever change the way you think about your body, from the creator of the popular channel Kurzgesagt – In A Nutshell. Thanks to his ability to successfully simplify complex concepts, Dettmer gives us a remarkable introduction to the human body and the vast system that fights infections and other threats. John Green, author