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Plague, Pox and Pestilence
lthough disease is a biological phenomenon, there is no doubt that human beings over the centuries have helped fashion perfect environments for growth. Community living and the buildup of urban populations brought with them a host of microbes and pathogens, as overcrowding, unsanitary conditions, and poor nutrition became unprecedented health hazards. Itinerants carried deadly diseases across the world, and war brought its own peculiar epidemics: typhus, cholera, scurvy, and syphilis. Teeming with color & b&w reproductions of paintings, engravings, illustrations, and photographs, this fascinating survey shows how various factors in human evolution, as well as man's eternal urge to rearrange things in the name of "progress," have resulted in the development and spread of disease--from plague, tuberculosis, and leprosy to smallpox, malaria, and influenza
176 pages, Paperback
First published November 1, 1997
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Displaying 1 - 6 of 6 reviews
October 24, 2020
As humans have 'progressed', we have also unwittingly created more opportunities for microbes to kill us in more cunning ways. Mother Nature's way to ensure the race of man doesn't wipe out the earth. The prehistoric hunter-gatherer groups forestalled epidemics by movement and fewer children, but when mankind figured out agriculture and the domestication of livestock, the tables were turned. Loss of tree foliage means more places for mosquitoes to breed. Loss of habitat brings wildlife closer to our homes.
This book focuses on the diseases which have bedeviled homo sapiens during recorded history. It specifically warns us that we are running out of time by showing how previous outbreaks were caused by human avarice. For example, Yellow Fever is not a threatening form in the jungle. However, once it is transported outside its safe environment, it is an entirely different being. It remains known as the American Plague because it caused so many deaths in the States and the Caribbean, but it was transported to the colonies via the African slave trade, a hefty price paid for cheap labour.
The "minor" diseases are included here, too, such as rickets. Caused by a deficiency of Vitamin D, it is thought that Northern Europeans were able to become lactose-tolerant via Darwinian selection to compensate for the lack of sunlight in the northern climes.
It's all very intriguing. Alas, I now feel that every ache and pain is something more serious than it probably is. Or perhaps one of us harbors the next bug that is set to wipe out mankind. Eenie-meenie-miney-mo.
Book Season = Spring (most virulent)
This book focuses on the diseases which have bedeviled homo sapiens during recorded history. It specifically warns us that we are running out of time by showing how previous outbreaks were caused by human avarice. For example, Yellow Fever is not a threatening form in the jungle. However, once it is transported outside its safe environment, it is an entirely different being. It remains known as the American Plague because it caused so many deaths in the States and the Caribbean, but it was transported to the colonies via the African slave trade, a hefty price paid for cheap labour.
The "minor" diseases are included here, too, such as rickets. Caused by a deficiency of Vitamin D, it is thought that Northern Europeans were able to become lactose-tolerant via Darwinian selection to compensate for the lack of sunlight in the northern climes.
It's all very intriguing. Alas, I now feel that every ache and pain is something more serious than it probably is. Or perhaps one of us harbors the next bug that is set to wipe out mankind. Eenie-meenie-miney-mo.
Book Season = Spring (most virulent)
January 23, 2009
I read this book around 2000 and reviewed it again December 2008. It's an interesting, if somewhat morbid, book. The book is oversize and covers 176 pages, heavy with excellent illustrations.
Kiple uses light and straight-forward prose. The writing is not too technical and aimed at the general public. A worthwhile read for interest for a good sense of history, a side less told.
Kiple uses light and straight-forward prose. The writing is not too technical and aimed at the general public. A worthwhile read for interest for a good sense of history, a side less told.
Read
August 8, 20076/16/2007 8:42
August 31, 2008
Fun to browse the history of diseases. Good illustrations too.
Want to Read
December 15, 2008I can't wait for the movie!!!
September 12, 2018
Excellent overview of major plagues written by experts. I bought the book after reading it as it is a good reference book for science historians.
Displaying 1 - 6 of 6 reviews