"A groundbreaking narrative exploration of the human immune system--the key to human health and longevity--from the Pulitzer Prize-winning New York Times journalist and acclaimed author of A Deadly Wandering"-- The immune system is a guardian vigilantly fighting illness, healing wounds, maintaining order and balance, and keeping us alive. Richtel interweaves the stories of four people: a terminal cancer patient who rises from the grave; a medical marvel who defies HIV; two women with autoimmunity who discover their own bodies have turned against them. As he leads us from the Black Plague to twentieth-century breakthroughs in vaccination and antibiotics, to the cutting-edge laboratories that are revolutionizing immunology, his four patients each illuminates an essential facet of our "elegant defense." -- adapted from jacket Provided by publisher.

Includes index.

Part I. Lives in the balance. The ties that bind -- Jason -- Bob -- Linda and Merredith -- Part II. The immune system and the festival of life. The bird, dog, starfish, and magic bullet -- The festival -- Festival crashers -- The mystery organ -- The B-word -- T cells and B cells -- Vaccines -- The infinity machine -- Transplant -- The immune system's fingerprint -- Inflammation -- Fever -- Flash Gordon -- The harmonious way -- Three wise men and a monoclonal antibody -- A second immune system -- Part III. Bob. Sex machine -- GRID -- The phone call -- CD4 and CD8 -- Magic -- The prime -- Part IV. Linda and Merredith. Linda -- The wolf -- Invisible evidence -- Best of both worlds (sort of) -- Merredith -- Should you pick your nose? -- Microbiome -- Stress -- Sleep -- Part V. Jason. A word about cancer -- Laughter and tears -- The Lazarus mouse -- Wound healing -- Programmed death -- The breakthrough -- Jason races time -- Shepherd of death -- Trials, personal and clinical -- The other shoe -- Part VI. Homecoming. Bob -- Linda -- Jan and Ron -- Jason down the white tunnel -- Jason rises -- Apollo 11 -- Home -- Jason's way -- The meanings of life -- The meaning of Jason.