As a long-time enthusiast of the Very Short Introductions series form Oxford University Press, I was very pleased to discover last year that they have another series dedicated to providing any interested reader with the essential information needed for a better understanding of a range of subjects: What Everyone Needs to Know.

Described by OUP as being “written by leading authorities in their given fields, each volume in Oxford’s acclaimed What Everyone Needs to Know series offers a balanced and authoritative primer on complex current event issues and countries.”

The most recent edition to arrive at The Well-read Naturalist is Vaccines by Dr. Kristen A. Feemster. True to the series mandate, Dr. Feemster’s book is dedicated to the presentation of the science behind, and facts about, vaccines in a manner that will allow anyone interested in the topic to correctly interpret news about and intelligently discuss the topic.