Includes bibliographical references (p. 321-333) and index.

From Tragedy the Antibiotic Age is Born -- The Disease and the Cure: The Microscopic World of Bacteria and Antibiotics -- Reliance on Medicines and Self-Medication: The Seeds of Antibiotic Misuse -- Antibiotic Resistance: Microbial Adaptation and Evolution -- The Antibiotic Myth -- Antibiotics, Animals, and the Resistance Gene Pool -- Further Ecologic Considerations: Antibiotic Use in Agriculture, Aquaculture, Pets, and Minor Animal Species -- Future Prospects: New Advances against Impending Disaster -- The Individual and Antibiotic Resistance -- The Antibacterial Craze -- Antibiotic Resistance: A Societal Issue at Local, National, and International Levels -- Epilogue: Anthrax, Bioterrism, and Antibiotic Stockpiling: Consequences Beyond the Scare.

In The Antibiotic Paradox, Dr. Stuart Levy reveals how our cavalier and naive attitude about the power of antibiotics can have dire consequences. He explains that we are now witnessing a massive evolutionary change in bacteria. A build-up of new antibiotic-resistant bacteria in individuals and in the environment, mixed with the unregulated dispensing of antibiotics worldwide, is leading us into a dangerous territory where our "miracle" drugs will no longer help.