Howard and Margery Facklam, Bacteria. New York: Twenty-first Century, 1994. A fascinating and easy-to-read description of bacteria, their place in the world, and their effect on our lives.
——, Viruses. New York: Twenty-first Century, 1994. A concise introduction to the world of viruses and the scientists who discovered them.
Mark Friedlander, Outbreak: Disease Detectives at Work. Minneapolis: Lerner, 2000. Recounts the work performed by epidemiologists from the Centers for Disease Control during infectious disease outbreaks.
James Cross Giblin, When Plague Strikes: The Black Death, Smallpox, AIDS. New York: HarperCollins, 1995. Fascinating accounts of three major diseases and how they changed the world.
Cynthia S. Gross, The New Biotechnology: Putting Microbes to Work. Minneapolis: Lerner, 1988. A good introduction to genetic engineering and the use of bacteria in industry.
Lisa Yount, Epidemics. San Diego: Lucent, 2000. Discusses the return of epidemics in modern times, the possible causes, and how they are tracked and controlled.
Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (www.cdc.gov). Contains up-to-date information on emerging diseases and the CDC's responses to them.
Digital Learning Center for Microbial Ecology (http://commtech lab.msu.edu). Very kid friendly; includes the Microbial Zoo, Microbe of the Month, and Microbes in the News.
The Jenner Museum (www.jennermuseum.com). Provides an introduction to Edward Jenner, his life, and his work eradicating smallpox.
Microbe World (www.microbe.org). Run by the American Society for Microbiology; includes fun experiments as well as information about careers in microbiology.
Microbial Genomics Gateway (www.microbialgenome.org). Gives background information about microbes, their importance in the world, and the Microbial Genome Project.
World Health Organization (www.who.int/en). Provides current information on a variety of health issues that threaten people around the world.
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