Immune

A Journey into the Mysterious System That Keeps You Alive

By: Philipp Dettmer

Narrated by: Steve Taylor

A deep dive into the immune system that will forever change how you think about your body, from the creator of the popular science YouTube channel Kurzgesagt - In a Nutshell.

“Through wonderful analogies and a genius for clarifying complex ideas, Immune is a truly brilliant introduction to the human body’s vast system for fighting infections and other threats.” (John Green, number one New York Times best-selling author of The Fault in Our Stars)

You wake up and feel a tickle in your throat. Your head hurts. You’re mildly annoyed as you get the kids ready for school and dress for work yourself. Meanwhile, an epic war is being fought, just below your skin. Millions are fighting and dying for you to be able to complain as you head out the door.

So what, exactly, is your immune system?

Second only to the human brain in its complexity, it is one of the oldest and most critical facets of life on Earth. Without it, you would die within days. In Immune, Philipp Dettmer, the brains behind the most popular science channel on YouTube, takes listeners on a journey through the fortress of the human body and its defenses. There is a constant battle of staggering scale raging within us, full of stories of invasion, strategy, defeat, and noble self-sacrifice. In fact, in the time you’ve been reading this, your immune system has probably identified and eradicated a cancer cell that started to grow in your body.

Each chapter delves into an element of the immune system, including defenses like antibodies and inflammation as well as threats like bacteria, allergies, and cancer, as Dettmer reveals why boosting your immune system is actually nonsense, how parasites sneak their way past your body’s defenses, how viruses work, and what goes on in your wounds when you cut yourself.

Enlivened by immersive descriptions, Immune turns one of the most intricate, interconnected, and confusing subjects - immunology - into a gripping adventure through an astonishing alien landscape. Immune is a vital and remarkably fun crash course in what is arguably, and increasingly, the most important system in the body.

©2021 Philipp Dettmer (P)2021 Random House Audio

Critic reviews

“Immune is science communication at its most lucid and exhilarating, a tour de force of demystification. Dettmer maintains an intimate relationship with the reader while revealing the Homeric dramas that routinely unfold within us. It has a vivid clarity that never comes at the expense of the science — or the wonder, as if an entire scientific field had been translated into human.” (Ann Druyan, author of Cosmos: Possible Worlds)

“Philipp Dettmer has a unique skill to show us the beauty and complexity of our world as it is revealed through a scientific understanding of it. In Immune he takes us on a tour through our own body and allows us to see and understand how our immune system actually works. A beautiful book about a complex system that our life depends on.” (Max Roser, founder of Our World in Data)

“Immune reads like it’s a riveting sci-fi novel, as Philipp Dettmer takes you on a journey into the body for an up-close look at the armies of expert warriors, rogue gladiators, and stealthy detectives that protect you in the daily war against trillions of ruthless microbe enemies. By the end of the book, I understood my entire body far better than I ever had before. Immune is a delightful treat for the curious.” (Tim Urban, creator of Wait But Why)

“Bringing both insight and humor to an important and relevant topic, Dettmer’s book is essential reading, especially in light of the COVID-19 pandemic.” (Library Journal)

This is a thing I would listen to over and over

His voice is nice the book is great could wast a week end listening to this and not even care I am 14 but I already have a love for this because of there Channel but also because of the foundation it has given me to learn on I definitely learn in school but whenever I see a new video has come out I always get excited and happy because I know even though it’s on in 10 minutes I can be alone with it and be happy because they are just great writers in this book is really showing that those 10 minutes is not enough and that’s now 10 hours but it still can feel like that those 10 minutes

want to learn how your body works, GET THIS BOOK!

this book is awesome! I learned so much about everything even about covid-19. thanks

Makes the immune system seem more understandable

More understandable than immunology probably is. I originally got the book as a physical copy, which has amazing illustrations, but I ended up listening on my walks, and looking at the illustrations when I got home.

The related videos on the Kurzgesagt YouTube channel give a decent summary of the things discussed in this book, often using similar stories, but I still feel like I understand the topics better after reading the book, thanks to the extra background information and context.

I also love that it's narrated by the same person who narrates the Kurzgesagt videos.

I used to always be scared about biology in general. But learning more about the immune system trying to defend me, as well as familiarity because of how much it now feels like my main field of parallel programming, made me feel a little less helpless. Even though I learned about a bunch of different ways in which I probably am.

amazing as always

as he will say a few times over the course of the book, Immunology is such a vast subject that it would take libraries to properly explain some of the intricacies that we don't even fully understand ourselves at this point. this was a great overview of a very complex topic. It is far from perfect but a lot of care, thought and time went into it. As a biochemist, I found this incredibly informative comparatively to some of the other Immunology books I have read.

Tremendous!!

A great read through a complicated eponymous part of everyday life. Should be required, encouraged, mandated and read in every classroom and library in the United States. (Not going to tell Mr. Boris Johnson what he should do in the UK.) Mr. Dettmer and Mr. Taylor both hail from the UK and their accents add a layer of finesse and thought through some British colloquialisms, like “Mum” for American “Mom” just enough to give one a smile while tackling a wonderfully complex biological system important to EVERY creature on planet Earth. Having been touched directly by COVID19, a long year of care giving for a spouse with Lymphoma, friends and relatives that are anti-vaxers, and the sporadic wing nut flat Earther I was very curious about the nits and grits of the human immune system. Heard Mr. Dettmer on NPR, liked his style and general knowledge about a very complex system so I purchased the book and the Audible book. The “listen” is well worth the 26 hrs and having the paper book to clarify complicated bits is a great addition to my understanding of probably the most underestimated and ignored system in human history. Well done Mr. Dettmer and Mr. Taylor, thank you.

Makes the complicated understandable

Through crazy analogies and concise explanations this made the complexity of the immune system somewhat understandable and was enjoyable to listen to as well. Highly recommended

Very Informative and Entertaining

This was a great book that provided an overview of many aspects of the Immune System. It included some scientific words that I will never remember, but the author clearly tried to focus the book to provide a general overview rather than a specific and detailed explanation. This worked extremely well because it made the book easy to grasp, and allowed a lot of topics to be covered in a short time. There was a perfect balance of details and generalizations that allowed me (someone with no medical/scientific background) to walk away with a much better understanding of the immune system. Steve Taylor did a wonderful narration and captured the tone of the book perfectly.

A great book

the author done a great job simplfing things, and the reader have a great voice too, this rekindled my passion for medicine and knowledge in general.
Thanks for everyone who contributed to this.

Pure excellence!!

There is so much to learn and appreciate in this book. Reading a book has never been more fun and engaging.
I’m an engineer and had close no clue how the body works but now it makes me want to get degree in immunology.

I was sad when it ended

The immune system is amazing. The book is accessible, funny, and charming. I'm a medical research translator and benefitted a lot from this book.