I Contain Multitudes: The Microbes Within Us and a Grander View of Life

Author: Ed Yong

Rating: ⭐ 4/5

Date Read: 2016/12/23

Pages: 368

“Do I contradict myself? Very well, then I contradict myself, I am large, I contain multitudes.” - Walt Whitman

I’m a priori inclined to like bacteria. My favorite is Oenococcus Oeni, even though that’s not the only bacteria that causes the poorly-named malolactic fermentation during winemaking (malolactic conversion is better jargon, but I digress). No one really extols the virtues of super young red wine (I mean, besides those marketing masters in Beaujolais, but I’m firmly of the opinion that, if the terroir’s worth tastin’, skip the carbonic maceration). Straight out of the fermentation tank, red wine tastes like tart apples, which is not generally what you want. Introduce a little Oenococcus Oeni, and the apple taste softens up into butter. And I don’t trust people who don’t like butter.

Northern California is apparently swarming with hippies, such as myself, who imagine that we’re all interconnected cosmic beings embracing within a universal stew (or maybe cheese plate, we do a lot of wine and cheese up here, and I’ve been driving through redwoods for a few hours so it’s a little hard for me to come up with a fitting metaphor). I Contain Multitudes is not only poetically written, but it deepens the feeling that we’re all in this together. It’s kind of like that episode of The Magic School Bus where the gang shrinks to the size of a blood cell and floats around the human body, but for educated grown ups who also listen to NPR.


I recommend I Contain Multitudes, especially for people who want a more nuanced explanation of the hygiene hypothesis, fecal transplants, probiotics, and other bacteria-related stuff being reported in the news these days. Also recommended for stoners who want to think about the fact that we live in cities, but we also contain cities of bacteria, and the bacteria are floating in our bodies, and we’re all fucking floating in space.