title: Microbial Life, Second Edition
author: James T. Staley
description: ... this is a very valuable textbook that provides expert knowledge in nearly all fields of modern microbiology, and presents expert information in all topics that students of microbiology and neighboring subjects need to cover today to represent their field adequately. --Bernhard Schink, The Quarterly Review of Biology
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  ## Contents
  
  
  
  
  
  * [Title Page](xhtml/title.xhtml)
  
  
  * [Copyright Notice](xhtml/copyrightnotice.xhtml)
  
  
  * [Dedication](xhtml/dedication.xhtml)
  
  
  * [Epigraphs](xhtml/epigraph.xhtml)
  
  
  * [Introduction: Finding the Enemy](xhtml/introduction.xhtml#Toc_Link1)
  
  
  * [1\. Persistence in the Face of Extinction](xhtml/chapter1.xhtml#Toc_Link2)
  
  
  * [2\. The Long History of Population Wars](xhtml/chapter2.xhtml#Toc_Link3)
  
  
  * [3\. The Meaning of Coexistence](xhtml/chapter3.xhtml#Toc_Link4)
  
  
  * [4\. The Context of Persistence, the Bacterial Dimension](xhtml/chapter4.xhtml#Toc_Link5)
  
  
  * [5\. The Symbiotic Dependency of Life, the Viral Dimension](xhtml/chapter5.xhtml#Toc_Link6)
  
  
  * [6\. Establishing a War Narrative for Populations, the Immune System](xhtml/chapter6.xhtml#Toc_Link7)
  
  
  * [7\. War Is Unwinnable](xhtml/chapter7.xhtml#Toc_Link8)
  
  
  * [8\. Competition Is Untenable](xhtml/chapter8.xhtml#Toc_Link9)
  
  
  * [9\. Know Thyself, Don't Lie to Thyself](xhtml/chapter9.xhtml#Toc_Link10)
  
  
  * [10\. 