The New Science of Metagenomics: Revealing the Secrets of Our Microbial Planet

"Microbes run the world. It's that simple." So begins a potent little book about the dramatic new tools for understanding microbial life. Shotgun sequencing of the genomes of whole environments of microbes---in the sea, in soil, in our guts--- is the breakthrough technique. Everything the technique touches yields major discoveries, some of which will be transformative. It's the most thrilling book I've read this year.