In this bold, fascinating book, Eula Biss addresses a chronic condition of fear ¿ fear of the government, the medical establishment, and what may be in your children¿s air, food, mattresses, medicines, and vaccines. Reflecting on her own experience as a new mother, Biss investigates the metaphors and myths surrounding our conception of immunity and its implications for the individual and the social body. She extends a conversation with other mothers to meditations on Voltaire¿s <i>Candide</i> , Bram Stoker¿s <i>Dracula</i>, Rachel Carson¿s <i>Silent Spring</i>, Susan Sontag¿s <i>AIDS and Its Metaphors</i>, and beyond. <i>On Immunity</i> is an inoculation against our fear and a moving account of how we are all interconnected ¿ our bodies and our fates.