Kenn Amdahl usually writes "funny books on dull subjects" like There Are No Electrons: Electronics for Earthlings and Calculus for Cats (with math professor Jim Loats). When a friend was diagnosed with ALS, he began casually educating himself about the disease, with no intent to write a book. It turns out, no one completely understands ALS yet. Theories about its cause have ranged from people eating fruit bats, to toxins in blue-green algae, to weed killers, to ingredients in soft drinks and processed meats, to nutritional deficiencies. The more Kenn learned, the more curious he became. Remarkably, ALS seems to share some characteristics with Alzheimer's and Parkinson's; curing one may lead to a cure for all of them. The progress is amazing and accelerating; we have good reasons to be hopeful. Kenn wound up learning many weird scientific tidbits plus some interesting medical history. Revenge of the Pond Scum is the journal of his quest. It includes many of those tidbits and side trips, as well as a few of his own brainstorms. If you're embarking on a similar quest, this book may save you a lot of time.