~~THE HIDDEN HALF OF NATURE looks into something that we usually don’t pay much attention but still has a tremendous
 impact upon our lives, Microbes.  The book weaves history, science, and personal experience to tell the story of humanity’s tangled relationship with the tiniest creatures on Earth.  New science is rapidly changing how we think about the microbes in the soil beneath our feet and even in our own bodies.  For when microbial allies are present and abundant, rather than absent, their disease-causing cousins rarely get a leg up.  Helpful microbes act as tiny alchemists in the soil, providing plants with a robust defense plan.  Montgomery and Biklé see parallels between what goes on in the soil and what goes on deep within our gut.  For the microbial communities that dwell within us influence our moods and susceptibility to chronic and autoimmune diseases.  And this new reality, according to Montgomery and Biklé, means that, “We are no longer what we eat, we are the product of what our microbes eat.” 

~~Book singing at 4:30 and 6:00 pm - Talk is at 5:00 pm

The talk is free and open to the public.

ABOUT THE AUTHORS:
Also a 2008 MacArthur Fellow and professor of geomorphology at the University of Washington, David R. Montgomery is the author of three other popular science books, including Dirt: The Erosion of Civilizations.  Anne Biklé is a biologist and gardener.  This is her first book.  Married, they live in Seattle, Washington.  They are on twitter @dig2grow and their website is www.dig2grow.com.