"In 1674, microbiologist Antoni van Leeuwenhoek made 'his most sensational discovery, ' writes historian Dekkers in her revealing, finely illustrated biography. Examining water from a lake under a microscope, van Leeuwenhoek observed single-celled life forms racing in all directions: bacteria and protozoa. He also described red blood cells, capillaries, striated muscle fibres, spermatozoa and the eye's crystalline lens accurately. On his death in 1723, the UK Royal Society wrote that it had lost its most valuable correspondent."

"This book is by far the best biography of van Leeuwenhoek to date. It is thoroughly documented, very well written (at times very funny), and [strikes] the right balance between academic discourse and the commonsense approach so cherished by van Leeuwenhoek. . . . A must-read for anyone interested in van Leeuwenhoek and, more generally, the cultural world of the Dutch seventeenth century."--Eric Jorink, senior researcher at the Huygens Institute and coeditor of "Newton and the Netherlands"

"Van Leeuwenhoek is deservedly famous in Holland for his astonishing microscopic discoveries but he's almost unknown elsewhere. This is an informative and entertaining introduction to his life and work, setting his observations of micro-organisms, blood cells, and so on in the context of everyday life and the big scientific questions of early modern Europe. It restores Van Leeuwenhoek to his rightful place alongside Hooke, Newton, Leibniz, and other great scientists of his time."--Felicity Henderson, senior lecturer in archives and material culture at the University of Exeter and author of "Robert Hooke's Experimental Philosophy"

"We may know of Antoni van Leeuwenhoek the microscopist, but what of Van Leeuwenhoek the man? Dekkers offers a concise and captivating taste of his world as revealed by his copious letters. Come back to seventeenth-century Delft and see where microscopy was born."--Brian J. Ford, Hon FRMS, Hon FLS, author of "The Leeuwenhoek Legacy"