For all its astonishing complexity, however, the immune system can be easily compromised by fatigue, stress, toxins, advanced age, and poor nutrition-hallmarks of modern life-and even by excessive hygiene. It has been honed by evolution over millennia to face an almost infinite array of threats. The immune system is our body's essential defense network, a guardian vigilantly fighting illness, healing wounds, maintaining order and balance, and keeping us alive. Interweaving cutting-edge science with the intimate stories of four individual patients, this epic, first-of-its-kind book 'give lay readers a means of understanding what's known so far about the intricate biology of our immune systems' (The Week).

The Pulitzer Prize–winning New York Times journalist 'explicates for the lay reader the intricate biology of our immune system' (Jerome Groopman, MD, New York Review of Books)įrom New York Times science journalist Matt Richtel, An Elegant Defense is an acclaimed and definitive exploration of the immune system and the secrets of health. An Elegant Defense left me with sense of awe.' -Bill Gates, Gates Notes Summer Reading List

'Gives you all the context you need to understand the science of immunity.

An Elegant Defense by Matt Richtel