Bergey's Manual of Determinative Bacteriology by 
Bergey's manual of systematic bacteriology by 
The Cell: A Very Short Introduction by
All living things on Earth are composed of cells. A cell is the simplest unit of a self-contained living organism, and the vast majority of life on Earth consists of single-celled microbes, mostly bacteria. These consist of a simple 'prokaryotic' cell, with no nucleus. The bodies of more complex plants and animals consist of billions of 'eukaryotic' cells, of varying kinds, adapted to fill different roles, including red blood cells, muscle cells, branched neurons. Each cell is an astonishingly complex chemical factory, the activities of which we have only begun to unravel in the past fifty years or so through modern techniques of microscopy, biochemistry, and molecular biology. In this volume the authors describe the nature of cells, their basic structure, their varying forms, their division, their differentiation from initially highly flexible stem cells, their signalling, and programmed death. Cells are the basic constituent of life, and understanding cells and how they work is central to all biology and medicine.
The Dictionary of Cell and Molecular Biology by 
How We Live and Why We Die: the secret lives of cells by 
Idaho microbes : how tiny single-celled organisms can harm, or save, our world by 
March of the Microbes: sighting the unseen by 
Microbiology: an introduction by 
Microcosm: E. coli and the new science of life by 
This Is Your Brain on Parasites by
"Based on a wildly popular Atlantic article: an astonishing investigation into the world of microbes, and the myriad ways they control how other creatures -- including humans -- act, feel, and think As we are now discovering, parasites -- microbes that cannot thrive and reproduce without another organism as a host -- are shockingly sophisticated and extraordinarily powerful. In fact, a plethora of parasites affect our behavior in ways we have barely begun to understand. In this mind-bending book, McAuliffe reveals the eons-old war between parasites and other creatures that is playing out in our very own bodies. And more surprising still, she uncovers the decisive role that parasites may have played in the rise and demise of entire civilizations. Our obsession with cleanliness and our experience of disgust are both evolutionary tools for avoiding infection, but they evolved differently for different populations. Political, social, and religious differences among societies may be caused, in part, by the different parasites that prey on us. In the tradition of Jared Diamond's Guns, Germs, and Steel and Neil Shubin's Your Inner Fish, This Is Your Brain on Parasites is both a journey into cutting-edge science and a revelatory examination of what it means to be human."-- Provided by publisher.
Viruses: a Very Short Introduction by
Viruses are big news. From HIV to swine flu and SARS, we are constantly concerned about new lethal infections that may spread rapidly worldwide. In this Very Short Introduction, Dorothy H. Crawford looks at the nature of viruses and our perpetual struggle against them. Outlining their discovery, their structure, and their modes of infection, Crawford describes the challenges posed by these tiny parasites, which are abundant everywhere on Earth. Analysing the threat of emerging viral infections she discusses the evidence surrounding the link between long-term viruses and cancer. Looking to the future, she considers whether we can ever live in harmony with viruses, and the ways in which we may need to adapt to prevent the emergence of new viruses with devastating consequences.
The World of the Cell by 
The Amoeba in the Room : Lives of the Microbes by
Animals and plants rule the world - or do they? A cup of seawater contains 100 million cells which are preyed upon by billions of viruses; a pinch of soil swarms with cryptic microbes whose activities are a mystery; 50 million tons of fungal spores are released into the atmosphere every year and affect the weather; and, human beings are mobile ecosystems that farm, and are farmed by, vast populations of bacteria and viruses involved with almost every aspect of our wellbeing. Theseare the vast, unnoticed, unmentioned 'elephants in the room' of planet earth.The more we learn about microbial biodiversity, the less important do animals and plants become in our understanding life on earth. The flowering of microbial science is revolutionizing biology and medicine in ways unimagined even a decade or two ago, and is inspiring a new view of what it means to be human. Nicholas P. money explores the extraordinary breadth of the microbial world and the vast swathes of biological diversity that are now becoming recognized using molecular methods. Moneyargues for nothing less than a revolution in our perception of the living world: the big lumbering forms we see are just froth on a vast ocean of single-celled protists, bacteria, and viruses that constitute most of life on earth.
Archaea: Structure, Habitats and Ecological Significance by 
The Invisible Kingdom: from the tips of our fingers to the tops of our trash, inside the curious world of microbes by
Introduces the lives of genes, proteins, bacteria, and viruses and explains the numerous ways in which they influence and benefit life on Earth, from creating antibiotics, to manufacturing food, to eliminating radioactive waste.
