A well written and fascinating introduction to human parasitology from an intriguing, seldom-used perspective -- how we can learn from parasites to achieve medical breakthroughs. -- Rod Adam, University of Arizona Dickson D. Despommier's approach is unique, easy going, and insightful. His book will appeal to both scientists and laypeople interested in science and medicine -- and will be of particular interest to travelers to exotic places. -- Robert Gwadz, National Institutes of Health There's a lot to learn from a tapeworm. Parasites have evolved stunningly successful strategies for thriving in our bodies for millions of years. Drawing on his long career as a parasitologist, Dickson Despommier explores the lessons we can gain from our passengers, creating a fascinating tour of the parasitic world. -- Carl Zimmer, author of A Planet of Viruses and Parasite Rex

Dickson D. Despommier is emeritus professor of public health and microbiology at Columbia University. For thirty-eight years, he taught parasitic diseases to second year medical students at Columbia's medical school. He has won numerous teaching awards, including the prestigious Golden Apple Award For Teaching Excellence from the American Medical Students Association. He is the author of more than seventy peer-reviewed research articles, numerous reviews, and three books. He is currently engaged in promoting the idea of growing food crops in tall buildings inside city limits (vertical farming). His book, The Vertical Farm: Feeding the World in the 21st Century, was highly received. William C. Campbell is a retired senior research scientist at Merck, Inc., Rahway, New Jersey. He discovered and helped develop the drugs thiabendazole, ivermectin, and related derivatives. Both parent compounds have helped to reduce or eliminate certain parasitic worm infections in cattle and humans. He is a world renowned expert on drug discovery, a former president of the American Society for Parasitologists, and is currently a RISE associate at Drew University.

Foreword by William C. CampbellPrefaceAcknowledgments1. This New House: Trichinalla spiralis2. Hooked on Parasites: Ancylostoma duodenale and Necator americanus3. Houdini's Nefarious Cousins: The Trypanosomes, the Schistosomes, and the Lymphatic Filariae4. A Parasite for All Seasons: Toxoplasma gondii5. The Unholy Trinity: Ascaris lumbricoides, Trichuris trichiura, and theHookworms6. The Long and the Short of It: Tapeworms -- Taenia saginata, Taenia solium, Diphyllobothrium latum, Echinococcus granulosus, and Echinococcus multilocularis7. All's Well That Ends Wells: Dracunculus medinensis8. Nature Has All the Answers. What's Your Question?GlossaryFurther ReadingIndex