I'm kind of a Carl Zimmer-Fanboy and his writing in this one is great. While I've not learnt that much that was new to me about viruses, he presents some nice stories and shares basic knowledge about some nasty and helpful viruses. But although I really like authors that know the concept of brevity I think this book is just too short. Feels more like a collection of essays (just as Zimmers "brain cuttings"), not like a book.