A Is for Amoeba: The Story of Life in a Single Cell
Author(s): Nicholas P. Money (Author)
- Publisher: Princeton University Press
- Publication Date: August 11, 2026
- Language: English
- Print length: 240 pages
- ISBN-10: 0691266980
- ISBN-13: 9780691266985
Book Description
A lively and engaging biography of amoebas that reveals why these tiny amorphous splotches with a spot in the middle have more to teach us than we ever imagined
Many of us are introduced to the amoeba in science class at school but know very little about the amazing life of this versatile, shape-shifting cell. A Is for Amoeba is packed with surprising stories that give readers a richer appreciation of these astonishing microbes, revealing what amoebas have to tell us about the natural world and ourselves. Along the way, this entertaining and informative book shows how amoebas influenced figures like Friedrich Nietzsche, who saw in them an expression of the will to power, and Sigmund Freud, who likened the movements of amoebas to the human ego.
Nicholas Money describes how amoebas are athletic predators with the rudiments of consciousness and how their sophisticated responses to injury help to explain the origins of pain and suffering in animals. Amoebas have the biggest genomes of any organisms, embodying monumental chronicles of their evolution and survival, and by splitting in half and making copies of themselves, they have mastered a form of genderless immortality. Money explains how white blood cells and metastatic cancer cells in the human body behave like amoebas, curing and causing a range of illnesses, and discusses how research using artificial amoebas has profound implications for AI, robotics, and bioengineering. He also looks at the outsized role of amoebas in pop culture, from movies like The Blob to the cartoons of Gary Larson.
A delightful portrait of an iconic microbe, A Is for Amoeba reveals why, from its graceful movements to its astounding problem-solving skills, the amoeba is the perfect guide to the business of being alive on Earth.
Editorial Reviews
Review
“Nicholas Money uses many metaphors and anecdotes to highlight how amoebas—those single-celled bugs that squish out across sediments, rocks, plants, and other surfaces—eat, sense their environment, and replicate.
A Is for Amoeba deepens our understanding of how these organisms make the planet habitable. This is a basic biology book that is fun to read.”—Paul G. Falkowski, author of Life’s Engines: How Microbes Made Earth Habitable“A is for much more than amoebas. This lively book tells the story of cellular life through the humble protist we all learned of as children.”
—Marilyn J. Roossinck, author of Viruses: A Natural HistoryAbout the Author
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