What's eating you? : people and parasites / Eugene H. Kaplan; illustrated by Susan L. Kaplan and Sandy Chichester Rivkin.

Format:

Book

Author/Creator:

Kaplan, Eugene H. (Eugene Herbert), 1932-

Language:

English

Subjects (All):

Parasites--Popular works.

Parasites.

Host-parasite relationships--Popular works.

Host-parasite relationships.

Physical Description:

1 online resource (320 p.)

Edition:

Course Book

Place of Publication:

Princeton : Princeton University Press, c2010.

Language Note:

English

Summary:

In What's Eating You? Eugene Kaplan recounts the true and harrowing tales of his adventures with parasites, and in the process introduces readers to the intimately interwoven lives of host and parasite. Kaplan has spent his life traveling the globe exploring oceans and jungles, and incidentally acquiring parasites in his gut. Here, he leads readers on an unforgettable journey into the bizarre yet oddly beautiful world of parasites. In a narrative that is by turns frightening, disgusting, and laugh-out-loud funny, Kaplan describes how drinking contaminated water can cause a three-foot-long worm to burst from your arm; how he "gave birth" to a parasite the size and thickness of a pencil while working in Israel; why you should never wave a dead snake in front of your privates; and why fleas are attracted to his wife. Kaplan tells stories about leeches feasting on soldiers in Vietnam; sea cucumbers with teeth in their anuses that seem to encourage the entry of symbiotic fish; the habits of parasites that cause dysentery, river blindness, and other horrifying diseases--and much, much more. Along the way, he explains the underlying science, including parasite evolution and host-parasite physiology. Informative, frequently lurid, and hugely entertaining, this beautifully illustrated book is a must-read for health-conscious travelers, and anyone who has ever wondered if they picked up a tapeworm from that last sushi dinner.

Contents:

Frontmatter

CONTENTS

Preface: Personal Parasites

Acknowledgments

Apologia

On the Sacredness of Life

INTRODUCTION: The Saline Solution - An Inner Sea

Introduction

1. Land of Smiles

2. An Encounter with Jordan Rose

3. I Had a Farm in Africa

4. Death of a Mouse

5. Intimate Relationships

6. A Peek into the Anus of - My Child

7. The Well-Hung Dog

8. Fiery Serpent

9. It Hardly Ever Happens

10. The Anti-Semitic Tapeworm

11. Mother Always Wanted Me to Be a Real Doctor

12. Missus Murphy's Baby

13. The Day I Flunked the Macho Test

14. The Biblical Plagues

15. Alley Cats and Seagulls

16. A Better Mousetrap

17. Scandals and Ghosts

18. Spiny-Headed Monsters

19. Bloodsucking Beasts

20. Ode to a Cockroach

21. Bats, Bugs, and Bloody Bites

22. Little Fleas Have Littler Fleas

23. How to Get Rid of Crabs

24. Wild Virgins

INEXPLICABLE BEHAVIOR: Some Relationships Are More Intimate Than Others

25. Topsy-Turvy Worlds

26. A Day in the Caribbean

27. Tit, Tit, Tittie - Cuckoo

28. The Game of Life: Name That Category

29. Paean of Praise

30. Tips for Travelers

Epilogue

Glossary

Selected References

Illustration Sources

Index

Notes:

Description based upon print version of record.

Includes bibliographical references and index.

ISBN:

9786612458767

9781282458765

1282458760

9781400832200

1400832209

OCLC:

647903154