Up Close and Gross

Never have the wonders of electron microscopy been more thrillingly displayed. From the back end of a flea burrowing into a human toe to a full-page, luridly red-lit, head-on view of a bedbug, these knife-sharp, all-too-explicit photos are riveting. The texts don’t trail far behind in appeal either, offering a rousing commentary on the life cycles and feeding habits of houseflies, head lice, hookworms, molds, bacteria, stinging nettles, and other beastly neighbors beneath headers such as, “Attack of the Plant-Sucking Aphids” and “A Peanut Butter and Rat Hair Sandwich.” For added value, each volume includes a boilerplate explanation of how microphotography is done.