About Immune
“Through wonderful analogies and a genius for clarifying complex ideas, Immune is a truly brilliant introduction to the human body’s vast system for fighting infections and other threats.”
– John Green, #1 New York Times bestselling author of The Fault in Our Stars
US
Published by Penguin Random House
Available at Penguin Random House
UK
Published by Hodder
Available at Waterstones, Amazon
Germany
Published by Ullstein
Available at Amazon
Press Kit
What’s it About?
A gorgeously illustrated deep dive into the immune system that will forever change how you think about your body, from the creator of the popular science YouTube channel Kurzgesagt—In a Nutshell
You wake up and feel a tickle in your throat. Your head hurts. You’re mildly annoyed as you get the kids ready for school and dress for work yourself. Meanwhile, an epic war is being fought, just below your skin. Millions are fighting and dying for you to be able to complain about your symptoms as you head out the door.
So what, exactly, is your immune system?
Second only to the human brain in its complexity, it is one of the oldest and most critical facets of life on Earth. Without it, you would die within days. In Immune, Philipp Dettmer, the brains behind the most popular science channel on YouTube, takes readers on a journey through the fortress of the human body and its defenses. There is a constant battle of staggering scale raging within us, full of stories of invasion, strategy, defeat, and noble self-sacrifice. In fact, in the time you’ve been reading this, your immune system has probably identified and eradicated a cancer cell that started to grow in your body.
Each chapter delves into an element of the immune system, including defenses like antibodies and inflammation as well as threats like bacteria, allergies, and cancer. Bit by bit Dettmer reveals why boosting your immune system is actually nonsense, how parasites sneak their way past your body’s defenses, how viruses work, and what goes on in your wounds when you cut yourself.
Enlivened by engaging graphics and immersive descriptions, Immune turns one of the most intricate, interconnected, and confusing subjects—immunology—into a gripping adventure through an astonishing alien landscape. Immune is a vital and remarkably fun crash course in what is arguably, and increasingly, the most important system in the body.
Praise for Immune
“Through wonderful analogies and a genius for clarifying complex ideas, Immune is a truly brilliant introduction to the human body’s vast system for fighting infections and other threats. With his trademark wit and intellectual deftness, Dettmer helps us understand not just the beautiful and strange mechanics of human immune responses, but also what works (and perhaps, more important, what doesn’t work!) when seeking to bolster immunity.”
—John Green, #1 New York Times bestselling author of The Fault in Our Stars
“Immune is science communication at its most lucid and exhilarating, a tour de force of demystification. Dettmer maintains an intimate relationship with the reader while revealing the Homeric dramas that routinely unfold within us. It has a vivid clarity that never comes at the expense of the science—or the wonder, as if an entire scientific field had been translated into human.”
—Ann Druyan, author of Cosmos: Possible Worlds
“Immune reads like it’s a riveting sci-fi novel, as Philipp Dettmer takes you on a journey into the body for an up-close look at the armies of expert warriors, rogue gladiators, and stealthy detectives that protect you in the daily war against trillions of ruthless microbe enemies. By the end of the book, I understood my entire body far better than I ever had before. Immune is a delightful treat for the curious.”
—Tim Urban, creator of Wait But Why
“Philipp Dettmer has a unique skill to show us the beauty and complexity of our world as it is revealed through a scientific understanding of it. In Immune he takes us on a tour through our own body and allows us to see and understand how our immune system actually works. A beautiful book about a complex system that our life depends on.”
—Max Roser, founder of Our World in Data
How Immune Originated
Philipp started working on Immune in 2011 while studying information design at university. He got interested in the immune system but realized that there were no books that actually explained it in detail without getting overly complicated or boring. So he set out to create a book that was both easy to understand and comprehensive. The first draft of Immune was created. Even though the time wasn’t right yet – as Philipp needed to focus on his newly founded YouTube channel first – the foundation for this project was laid. Immune would be finished and published ten years later in 2021.
FAQs
In which languages will Immune be released?
As of November 2021 the book will be released in English, German, Spanish, French, Russian, Ukrainian, Swedish, Turkish, Korean, Romanian, Chinese, Hungarian, Czech, Greek, Italian, Polish, Slovak, Romanian, Hebrew, Lithuanian and Portuguese.
Did Philipp create the illustrations?
All illustrations for Immune were created by Philip Laibacher, the CCO of Kurzgesagt.
Was Immune written by Kurzgesagt?
The book is not a kurzgesagt project, but is written by its CEO and founder, Philipp Dettmer.
When will Immune be available in my country?
The English version will be available online throughout the Open Market (i.e. most places around the world) as of 11/02. For translated versions please stay tuned, this info will be updated in early September.
Is Immune suitable for children?
Immune is not written for children specifically and is probably not suited for children under the age of 12.
Does Immune contain mostly written text or mostly illustrations?
Immune is a non-fiction book that mostly contains written text. But it also contains almost 50 detailed, full-page illustrations in the style of Kurzgesagt that will help you understand the complexity and appreciate the beauty of the immune system.
Why are the page counts different for different language editions?
The page count depends on the language and the individual formatting and thus can vary from country to country. But the content is the same no matter where you get it.
Was Immune fact-checked by scientists?
Philipp researched this topic for ten years, talked to numerous experts, and had the final draft of the book fact-checked by several immunologists. However, science is always changing and evolving and new research is coming in every day. So contents of this book are not immune (pun intended?) to change.