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Plague's Progress: A Social History of Man and Disease
The Black Death and smallpox are behind us, the age of antibiotics and organ transplants is here. Yet a tide of new epidemics is rising around the world; AIDS, Lyme disease and 'mad cow' disease are just a few of dozens that have appeared in recent decades. Where do these new diseases come from, and why now?
In this startling, lucid book, biohistorian Arno Karlen explains this plague of plagues. He shows that waves of new diseases have happened before, at crucial times in human history, when people dramatically changed their lives and environment. Today, by radically altering our landscape, technology and lifestyles, we again invite new epidemics. Travel and trade are making the world a global village for microbes, and even new medical technology is creating new infections. There is cause for alarm, but not despair. Our ancestors survived such crises, and now so must we. As this book shows, the first step is understanding how, from prehistory until today, men and microbes have been in an intimate dance of mutual adaptation.
In this startling, lucid book, biohistorian Arno Karlen explains this plague of plagues. He shows that waves of new diseases have happened before, at crucial times in human history, when people dramatically changed their lives and environment. Today, by radically altering our landscape, technology and lifestyles, we again invite new epidemics. Travel and trade are making the world a global village for microbes, and even new medical technology is creating new infections. There is cause for alarm, but not despair. Our ancestors survived such crises, and now so must we. As this book shows, the first step is understanding how, from prehistory until today, men and microbes have been in an intimate dance of mutual adaptation.
266 pages, Hardcover
First published August 17, 1995
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Displaying 1 - 3 of 3 reviews
May 11, 2020
This lucid and comprehensive social history of disease in humans is especially pertinent at this time of the Covid-19 pandemic. Karlen shows us that 'parasitism and disease are a natural, in fact necessary, part of life'. Although 'a small number of human diseases have always been with us …, most were once new, … and most of these came from other species.' The consequences are writ large across our history, and new zoonotic diseases will continue to emerge.
He writes, in 1995, 'the twenty-first century will bring a savage test. Infectious diseases remain the world's leading cause of death; they will remain so for a long time to come.' 'Yet [while] there is much in our favour … our most troubling vulnerability is our spotty [sic] record of serving our best interests. Ignorance, greed and shortsightedness will often keep from using the tools we have'. There can be little doubt over the validity of this opinion, given present events.
The message of this book is clear: even if Covid-19 turns out to be controllable, through social control, herd immunity or use of vaccines, there will be another disease, and another - if not next year, then sometime soon. Some will be worse. We would do well to learn the lessons taught by the current (and past) pandemics, to remember them, and to act on them. One clear lesson that is not pointed out by this excellent book is the pressing need to reduce human exposure to animals, particularly wild ones, by stopping their consumption as food and their use for research and entertainment, and as companions.
He writes, in 1995, 'the twenty-first century will bring a savage test. Infectious diseases remain the world's leading cause of death; they will remain so for a long time to come.' 'Yet [while] there is much in our favour … our most troubling vulnerability is our spotty [sic] record of serving our best interests. Ignorance, greed and shortsightedness will often keep from using the tools we have'. There can be little doubt over the validity of this opinion, given present events.
The message of this book is clear: even if Covid-19 turns out to be controllable, through social control, herd immunity or use of vaccines, there will be another disease, and another - if not next year, then sometime soon. Some will be worse. We would do well to learn the lessons taught by the current (and past) pandemics, to remember them, and to act on them. One clear lesson that is not pointed out by this excellent book is the pressing need to reduce human exposure to animals, particularly wild ones, by stopping their consumption as food and their use for research and entertainment, and as companions.
January 7, 2019
It reads like a crime novel in places as people of different ages tried to understand the reasons for certain diseases to appear, where they came from, how they are transmitted, what causes them and how they evolve. Fascinating read.
July 8, 2021
Not a single moment of boredom in this super-duper novel.
Displaying 1 - 3 of 3 reviews