Elegant Defense

A deeply reported and entertainingly written exploration of the human immune system and how it works.USA TodayNational Bestseller * The essentialbook to read to understand your immune system during the coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemicThe Pulitzer PrizewinningNew York Timesjournalist "e;explicates for the lay reader the intricate biology of our immune system"e; (Jerome Groopman, MD,New York Review of Books)New York Timesscience reporter Matt Richtel'sAn Elegant Defenseilluminates the human immune system as never before, uniquely entwining intimate patient stories with sciences centuries-long quest to unlock the mysteries of sickness and health.The immune system is our bodys essential defense network, a guardian vigilantly fighting viruses and illness, healing wounds, maintaining order and balance, and keeping us alive. Its legion of microscopic foot soldiersfrom T cells to natural killerspatrols our body, linked by a nearly instantaneous communications grid. It has been honed by evolution over millennia to face an almost infinite array of threats.For all its astonishing complexity, however, the immune system can be easily compromised by fatigue, stress, toxins, advanced age, and poor nutritionhallmarks of modern lifeand even by excessive hygiene. Paradoxically, it is a fragile wonder weapon that can turn on our own bodies with startling results, leading today to epidemic levels of autoimmune disorders.Richtel effortlessly guides readers on a scientific detective tale winding from the Black Plague to twentieth-century breakthroughs in vaccination and antibiotics, to the cutting-edge laboratories that are revolutionizing immunologyperhaps the most extraordinary and consequential medical story of our time. The foundation that Richtel builds makes accessible revelations about cancer immunotherapy, the microbiome, and autoimmune treatments that are changing millions of lives.An Elegant Defensealso captures in vivid detail how these powerful therapies, along with our behavior and environment, interact with the immune system, often for the good but always on a razors edge that can throw this remarkable system out of balance.Drawing on his groundbreaking reporting for theNew York Timesand based on extensive new interviews with dozens of world-renowned scientists (including Dr. Anthony Fauci, director of the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases), Matt Richtel has produced a landmark book, equally an investigation into the deepest riddles of survival and a profoundly human tale that is movingly brought to life through the eyes of his four main characters, each of whom illuminates an essential facet of our elegant defense.