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    The Rise of Yeast: How the Sugar Fungus Shaped Civilization
    The Rise of Yeast: How the Sugar Fungus Shaped Civilization
    The Rise of Yeast: How the Sugar Fungus Shaped Civilization
    Audiobook6 hours

    The Rise of Yeast: How the Sugar Fungus Shaped Civilization

    Written by Nicholas P. Money

    Narrated by David Colacci

    4.5/5

    ()

    About this audiobook

    The great Victorian biologist Thomas Huxley once wrote, "I know of no familiar substance forming part of our every-day knowledge and experience, the examination of which, with a little care, tends to open up such very considerable issues as does yeast." Huxley was right. Beneath the very foundations of human civilization lies yeast-also known as the sugar fungus. Yeast is responsible for fermenting our alcohol and providing us with bread-the very staples of life. Moreover, it has proven instrumental in helping cell biologists and geneticists understand how living things work, manufacturing life-saving drugs, and producing biofuels that could help save the planet from global warming.

    In The Rise of Yeast, Nicholas P. Money argues that we cannot ascribe too much importance to yeast, and that its discovery and controlled use profoundly altered human history. Humans knew what yeast did long before they knew what it was. It was not until Louis Pasteur's experiments in the 1860s that scientists even acknowledged its classification as a fungus. A compelling blend of science, history, and sociology, The Rise of Yeast explores the rich, strange, and utterly symbiotic relationship between people and yeast, a stunning account that takes us back to the roots of human history.
    LanguageEnglish
    PublisherTantor Media, Inc
    Release dateSep 28, 2018
    ISBN9781977330499
    The Rise of Yeast: How the Sugar Fungus Shaped Civilization

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    Reviews for The Rise of Yeast

    4.5/5

    60 ratings7 reviews

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    • 5/5
      Rather technical but fantastic. And so much more than just yeast!
    • 5/5
      Excellent pop-science view of Yeast - How it's shaped our lives and our cultures. Some have been critical of it not being much of a cultural history, but more of a scientific history - which is a fair complaint. But, well written and easily understandable (so long as you have some earlier understanding of yeast and biology).
    • 5/5
      Very informative! A very well written and narrated book. Excellent
    • 5/5
      Very interesting, informative and funny. Especially liked the last chapter on fungal diseases. The writing style seems to put the reader at ease, or at least, is a lighter read/listen than other books of this topic, while still being informative and interesting. Listened to the audio book, the narration is also good.
    • 2/5
      Very boring, too drawn out. I wanted to hear about the technical analysis of reading bones and teeth. I gave up after two chapters.
    • 3/5
      Interesting, but boring. Or maybe boring, but interesting. I don't know how else to describe it.
    • 4/5
      I enjoyed it but you could make this book twice as good by including more biology of yeast. Especially since the author is a biologist. I know I can open wikipedia but it's not like adding a couple more pages with a few diagrams wouldn't fit within the covers.