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Outbreak! Plagues That Changed History
“An engrossing introduction for young adult readers to the chillingly topical subject of man vs. microbe.” — The Wall Street Journal
Did the Black Death destroy medieval Europe? Did cholera pave the way for modern Manhattan? Did yellow fever help end the slave trade? Remarkably, the answer to all of these questions is yes. Time and again, diseases have impacted the course of human history in surprisingly powerful ways. From influenza to smallpox, from tuberculosis to yellow fever, Bryn Barnard describes the symptoms and paths of the world’s worst diseases—and how the epidemics they spawned have changed history forever.
Filled with fascinating, often gory details about disease and history, Outbreak! is a wonderful combination of science and history.
Did the Black Death destroy medieval Europe? Did cholera pave the way for modern Manhattan? Did yellow fever help end the slave trade? Remarkably, the answer to all of these questions is yes. Time and again, diseases have impacted the course of human history in surprisingly powerful ways. From influenza to smallpox, from tuberculosis to yellow fever, Bryn Barnard describes the symptoms and paths of the world’s worst diseases—and how the epidemics they spawned have changed history forever.
Filled with fascinating, often gory details about disease and history, Outbreak! is a wonderful combination of science and history.
48 pages, Hardcover
First published November 8, 2005
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 141 reviews
October 27, 2016
Outbreak! Plagues That Changed History offers a brief examination of six pathogens (bubonic plague, smallpox, tuberculosis, cholera, yellow fever, and influenza) and explores how the widespread death associated with each pathogen altered the course of history.
What's fascinating about this book isn't just the history of land changing hands or ruling classes failing because of widespread disease, it's the way religion, sexism, and racism played a devastating hand in prolonging the prevalence of these diseases and ultimately cost millions of people their lives.
Just a few examples . . .
Religion: Medical knowledge had also stalled. Since 1300, Pope Boniface VIII had forbidden the dissection of human cadavers (pigs were used instead). Human anatomy remained a mystery. The function of many organs, even the circulation of blood, was unknown.
Sexism: Effective European efforts to prevent smallpox started in 1717 when Lady Mary Wortley Montagu, a smallpox survivor, learned about inoculation in Turkey. [. . .] But British leaders resisted. Male doctors scoffed at a woman's medical suggestion.
Racism: The same people who had once concluded that Native Americans were inferior because they died from European disease now assured themselves that blacks were suited to slavery because they were immune to yellow fever. The logic of bigotry is a marvelously malleable thing.
Outbreak! Plagues That Changed History is designed for young audiences. It's a quick, informative read on plagues and provides a simplistic overview of history and sociology.
What's fascinating about this book isn't just the history of land changing hands or ruling classes failing because of widespread disease, it's the way religion, sexism, and racism played a devastating hand in prolonging the prevalence of these diseases and ultimately cost millions of people their lives.
Just a few examples . . .
Religion: Medical knowledge had also stalled. Since 1300, Pope Boniface VIII had forbidden the dissection of human cadavers (pigs were used instead). Human anatomy remained a mystery. The function of many organs, even the circulation of blood, was unknown.
Sexism: Effective European efforts to prevent smallpox started in 1717 when Lady Mary Wortley Montagu, a smallpox survivor, learned about inoculation in Turkey. [. . .] But British leaders resisted. Male doctors scoffed at a woman's medical suggestion.
Racism: The same people who had once concluded that Native Americans were inferior because they died from European disease now assured themselves that blacks were suited to slavery because they were immune to yellow fever. The logic of bigotry is a marvelously malleable thing.
Outbreak! Plagues That Changed History is designed for young audiences. It's a quick, informative read on plagues and provides a simplistic overview of history and sociology.
October 22, 2017
Rtc
Picked this up from the library
Love the cover
Short book
Brief description of several diseases
Picked this up from the library
Love the cover
Short book
Brief description of several diseases
February 4, 2021
Outbreak by Bryn Barnard is a great book for all people who love reading nonfiction or informational books. Outbreak is ironically about Outbreaks; what caused them, how people treated them, and how they affected the world. I thought this was a good book to read because we ourselves are living and have been living in the outbreak of COVID-19. While reading, I managed to make many different connections from how the other outbreaks affected the people at that time and how we are affected now. If you want to find out more about past viruses and outbreaks and connect to them as I did, this would be a good book for you.
January 28, 2014
I love disease history so I was incredibly excited to finally get to this book. That excitement quickly turned to distress as numerous red flags appeared.
It started when I saw how completely this book mischaracterizes the Middle Ages. The author's rather obvious bias against religion was equally distasteful.
I read on hoping it would get better and found the rest of the book to be of mixed quality. I knew it was only supposed to be an overview given its length (my copy has 134 pages, although goodreads doesn't appear to have that edition), but I was a little uncomfortable with how the author would try to boil down really complicated history events into trite cause and effect statements.
There comes a point when teaching about an event where one has taken out so much of the complexity that made it up that the account no longer reflects the truth, even if the facts used at true.
Also the author tends to make very big historical assertions without actually providing any evidence for those claims. That was another red flag for me.
I wavered on whether to give this one star or two. I decided to be generous given its audience. It did have quite a few interesting details thrown in that made it less terrible than it could have been.
It started when I saw how completely this book mischaracterizes the Middle Ages. The author's rather obvious bias against religion was equally distasteful.
I read on hoping it would get better and found the rest of the book to be of mixed quality. I knew it was only supposed to be an overview given its length (my copy has 134 pages, although goodreads doesn't appear to have that edition), but I was a little uncomfortable with how the author would try to boil down really complicated history events into trite cause and effect statements.
There comes a point when teaching about an event where one has taken out so much of the complexity that made it up that the account no longer reflects the truth, even if the facts used at true.
Also the author tends to make very big historical assertions without actually providing any evidence for those claims. That was another red flag for me.
I wavered on whether to give this one star or two. I decided to be generous given its audience. It did have quite a few interesting details thrown in that made it less terrible than it could have been.
July 17, 2008
I was very intrigued by the cover art. The format for this book is the size of a picture book, but the text is overabundant. I am concerned that the struggling readers at my school will pick this up thinking it is an easy read. Then they will be overwhelmed by the text. I am curious to find out the reading level of this book. I would put it around grades 10-12. I had difficulty with some of the language and had to consult a dictionary, even though there is a one page glossary in the back of the book. Not all of the words that are in italics in the text appear in the glossary. The glossary should be more than one page.
The text appears squished onto the page throughout the book. It is almost as if the publishing company didn't want to make the book a signature more in length. They should have gone with a smaller size, larger print and made the text flow onto 100 pages (the book is currently only 45 pages....that's how small the text is). The illustrations could have then been a nice full page, to break up the text. This could have been wonderful, but I think it just missed the mark.
The text appears squished onto the page throughout the book. It is almost as if the publishing company didn't want to make the book a signature more in length. They should have gone with a smaller size, larger print and made the text flow onto 100 pages (the book is currently only 45 pages....that's how small the text is). The illustrations could have then been a nice full page, to break up the text. This could have been wonderful, but I think it just missed the mark.
March 4, 2020
Outbreak! Plagues That Changed History by Bryan Barnard is an interesting and informational book full of facts and intriguing stories, yet it was a quick, concise, and fun read. Bryan Barnard manages to convince the reader that plagues, while seemingly awful and inhumane, surprisingly may have good effects.
One new detail I learned about European history is that they have done plague massacres to the Jews. This changed my perspective. Originally, I was only aware of the WWII Jewish Holocaust. But the books gives another example in history. The author writes,"In 1348 and 1349, Christian Europeans tried, tortured, burned, and murdered, and executed Jews by the thousands." Jews would not change to the Christian religion; consequently, they were blamed by the majority to be the causes of the Black Death. I can relate the Europeans at this time to the Germans in around 1940s. Their actions are similar-accusing Jews of their own suffering. Germans were left of from WWI extremely damaged. They blamed this on the Jews. Europeans at the time of Black Death made Jews "rightless noncitizens, setfs of the king, continually degraded and persecuted for refusing to convert to Christianity." This is an example of the way the plague turned society on its head.
The cruelness of the English and French is further shown during the French and Indian Wars. The author claims,"General Jeffrey Amherst, commander of the British forces, recommended a gift of smallpox-laced blankets to jumpstart an epidemic among Native Americans. His goal was genocide!" This is direct proof of biological warfare against the natives. The reason why the foreign forces did not easily get infected from smallpox is because smallpox was common for them, and among many generations, the French and British had developed a short-term immunity to smallpox. On the other hand, the natives had never come into contact with this infectious disease. Therefore, "the first fifty years of British colonization was a virtual cakewalk."
But soon, the different diseases would prove to be merciful and bring karma. In the 16th century European explorers were beginning to use Africans as slaves. They brought the human trafficking full-blast. They enslaved about twenty million Africans. But along with the European greed came the yellow fever, "an African disease to which most slaves were immune but slave owners were not."This plague, would prove to be slavery's undoing. Karma strikes back!
Last, I need to acknowledge that this book literally predicts the coronavirus! It compares it to the Spanish style flu. Want to find out more? Well, read the book to find out! It's a battle between pathogens and humans. Who will prevail?
(Hopefully humans right?)
One new detail I learned about European history is that they have done plague massacres to the Jews. This changed my perspective. Originally, I was only aware of the WWII Jewish Holocaust. But the books gives another example in history. The author writes,"In 1348 and 1349, Christian Europeans tried, tortured, burned, and murdered, and executed Jews by the thousands." Jews would not change to the Christian religion; consequently, they were blamed by the majority to be the causes of the Black Death. I can relate the Europeans at this time to the Germans in around 1940s. Their actions are similar-accusing Jews of their own suffering. Germans were left of from WWI extremely damaged. They blamed this on the Jews. Europeans at the time of Black Death made Jews "rightless noncitizens, setfs of the king, continually degraded and persecuted for refusing to convert to Christianity." This is an example of the way the plague turned society on its head.
The cruelness of the English and French is further shown during the French and Indian Wars. The author claims,"General Jeffrey Amherst, commander of the British forces, recommended a gift of smallpox-laced blankets to jumpstart an epidemic among Native Americans. His goal was genocide!" This is direct proof of biological warfare against the natives. The reason why the foreign forces did not easily get infected from smallpox is because smallpox was common for them, and among many generations, the French and British had developed a short-term immunity to smallpox. On the other hand, the natives had never come into contact with this infectious disease. Therefore, "the first fifty years of British colonization was a virtual cakewalk."
But soon, the different diseases would prove to be merciful and bring karma. In the 16th century European explorers were beginning to use Africans as slaves. They brought the human trafficking full-blast. They enslaved about twenty million Africans. But along with the European greed came the yellow fever, "an African disease to which most slaves were immune but slave owners were not."This plague, would prove to be slavery's undoing. Karma strikes back!
Last, I need to acknowledge that this book literally predicts the coronavirus! It compares it to the Spanish style flu. Want to find out more? Well, read the book to find out! It's a battle between pathogens and humans. Who will prevail?
(Hopefully humans right?)
February 28, 2020
I have not read a lot of Non-Fiction books, so I expected this one to be boring and too factual. Instead, Outbreak!, a book about different plagues that affected human history, was very interesting and good to read.
Ironically, I am reading this book while the coronavirus is spreading. Unlike normal non-fiction books, Outbreak was funny and interesting. With a blend of facts and personal opinions, the author details 6 different plagues in human history.
I like how the author puts in a lot of subtitles in each chapter to help the reader feel more engaged. The subtitles also had the use of sparking curiosity, as the majority of them were open-ended, and they didn't make sense. The weird and interesting subtitles made me want to read the paragraph even more, and after I finished the paragraph, it made sense for why the author would name it like that.
I like the structure that the author wrote for each plague. He starts with a little background story, and then he moves on to the factual base. He doesn't just state the facts. Sometimes he adds his own opinions or some funny remarks to help the book feel less boring. He then states the importance of the plague in history, which provides in-depth information on how it affected history. For example, World War I was greatly affected by a plague called The Spanish Lady. Out of the 100,000 American soldiers who died in the war, half of them died from Spanish influenza. The epidemic was a major part of the battle of World War I and helped shape the Versailles peace treaty. Because of how many german soldiers were dying of the disease, American Soldiers had the opportunity to pour into Europe, ensuring the victory for the Allies.
I would greatly recommend this book as it is humorous, interesting, informational and it gives ideas for how to stop plagues from spreading, something we all need to do. I would give it 5-stars in the non-fiction category.
Ironically, I am reading this book while the coronavirus is spreading. Unlike normal non-fiction books, Outbreak was funny and interesting. With a blend of facts and personal opinions, the author details 6 different plagues in human history.
I like how the author puts in a lot of subtitles in each chapter to help the reader feel more engaged. The subtitles also had the use of sparking curiosity, as the majority of them were open-ended, and they didn't make sense. The weird and interesting subtitles made me want to read the paragraph even more, and after I finished the paragraph, it made sense for why the author would name it like that.
I like the structure that the author wrote for each plague. He starts with a little background story, and then he moves on to the factual base. He doesn't just state the facts. Sometimes he adds his own opinions or some funny remarks to help the book feel less boring. He then states the importance of the plague in history, which provides in-depth information on how it affected history. For example, World War I was greatly affected by a plague called The Spanish Lady. Out of the 100,000 American soldiers who died in the war, half of them died from Spanish influenza. The epidemic was a major part of the battle of World War I and helped shape the Versailles peace treaty. Because of how many german soldiers were dying of the disease, American Soldiers had the opportunity to pour into Europe, ensuring the victory for the Allies.
I would greatly recommend this book as it is humorous, interesting, informational and it gives ideas for how to stop plagues from spreading, something we all need to do. I would give it 5-stars in the non-fiction category.
December 12, 2024
I listened to this through my library app.
Great little book for the none scientist (which i am!) to get a general history of all things plague.
There is lots of information in this book i was already aware of, but it passed an hour and a half happily.
Great little book for the none scientist (which i am!) to get a general history of all things plague.
There is lots of information in this book i was already aware of, but it passed an hour and a half happily.
January 22, 2008
Barnard's book highlights six major plagues that altered the course of human history and helped to shape the world as we know it. This would be an interesting counterpoint for students studying world history in the standard textbooks. For instance, this book discusses the Spanish Influenza outbreak that occurred right at the close of the First World War. Students could discuss the role that this outbreak, military advantages and political diplomacy all played in shaping the eventual armistice. The writing is fairly advanced in this slim volume, so it would be most appropriate for older school agers. And for those inclined toward the gross and gruesome, the cover is perfectly suited to attract!
January 11, 2009
Let me begin by saying this is not necessarily the book you want to read just before you spend the weekend with the kids, one of whom spends the entire time essentially incapacitated with a fever.
That said, it is an interesting book. My complaints pretty much run consistent with those expressed by Abby (the) Librarian. For starters, the format is awkward. It appears to be a picture book, but it is extremely text heavy. This becomes a barrier to accessing the information in the book.
Personally, I didn't find the illustrations to be all that enchanting, which is probably my greatest disappointment with the book. I mean, we're looking at the upheaval caused by epidemics; surely there are some wicked cool illustrations that might have been incorporated. Many of the maps were a bit on the difficult side to read, primarily in that the color palette didn't provide adequate distinction between the hues.
The author's political point of view is rather blatant, particularly in the last section when he harps on the health discrepancy between the wealthy and the poor and what not. Granted, my opinion does fall in line with his, but still . . .
I wonder about some of the connections the author draws between epidemics and social changes, and that's perhaps the best thing I pull from this book. But I don't see too many junior high kids wanting to delve further into research pursuing the link between the Romantic worship of tuberculosis with our current obsession with waifish models as the pinnacle of beauty and health.
This book was also a fascinating read following on the heels of The Adoration of Jenna Fox in that Jenna Fox explores a world wherein a third of the population has been wiped out because of drug-resistant bacteria.
That said, it is an interesting book. My complaints pretty much run consistent with those expressed by Abby (the) Librarian. For starters, the format is awkward. It appears to be a picture book, but it is extremely text heavy. This becomes a barrier to accessing the information in the book.
Personally, I didn't find the illustrations to be all that enchanting, which is probably my greatest disappointment with the book. I mean, we're looking at the upheaval caused by epidemics; surely there are some wicked cool illustrations that might have been incorporated. Many of the maps were a bit on the difficult side to read, primarily in that the color palette didn't provide adequate distinction between the hues.
The author's political point of view is rather blatant, particularly in the last section when he harps on the health discrepancy between the wealthy and the poor and what not. Granted, my opinion does fall in line with his, but still . . .
I wonder about some of the connections the author draws between epidemics and social changes, and that's perhaps the best thing I pull from this book. But I don't see too many junior high kids wanting to delve further into research pursuing the link between the Romantic worship of tuberculosis with our current obsession with waifish models as the pinnacle of beauty and health.
This book was also a fascinating read following on the heels of The Adoration of Jenna Fox in that Jenna Fox explores a world wherein a third of the population has been wiped out because of drug-resistant bacteria.
February 13, 2017
This was an outstanding book about 6 diseases that changed history: the Black Death, smallpox, yellow fever, cholera, tuberculosis, and influenza. Some of the ways that these pandemics changed history had never occurred to me. I learned a lot from this book! The author is right up to date on the latest treatments and obviously did a LOT of research. I'm not sure what age group this is targeted for, but I think middle to high schoolers would find it useful for reports. In fact, I'd even recommend it as a succinct summary/intro for adults!
What fascinated me the most was the information about how tuberculosis was seen in early 19th century western culture as inherited and a sign of creativity. The Romantic writers and artists were proud of having TB and those who didn't have it strove to achieve that look-- thin, pale, with bright red cheeks and a cough. In fact, that thin look is still prized today! Little do our young models and actresses know they're imitating the tubercular look! In Japan it was considered a sign of lovesickness, curable with finding one's true love. Of course, all this changed when, later in the 19th century, the true cause of TB was discovered.
I love the cover of the book too--how appropriate! I may have to buy a copy of this for myself. Highly recommended!!
What fascinated me the most was the information about how tuberculosis was seen in early 19th century western culture as inherited and a sign of creativity. The Romantic writers and artists were proud of having TB and those who didn't have it strove to achieve that look-- thin, pale, with bright red cheeks and a cough. In fact, that thin look is still prized today! Little do our young models and actresses know they're imitating the tubercular look! In Japan it was considered a sign of lovesickness, curable with finding one's true love. Of course, all this changed when, later in the 19th century, the true cause of TB was discovered.
I love the cover of the book too--how appropriate! I may have to buy a copy of this for myself. Highly recommended!!
March 9, 2013
I thought I might read this with my 6 year old, who is very into bacteria and viruses right now. Not more than two pages into it we read a description of how the bubonic plague, when a person was exposed to it via the lungs, could be fatal in a few hours. My son jumped off the couch and said "No thanks mom. I don't want to read this anymore. It will give me nightmares."
Well, I finished the book, and thoroughly enjoyed it. The author gave such a neat historical twist to diseases that I thought I was very familiar with already. I learned many new details. I thought the way the author brought the ending together was insightful and well done- the idea of poverty being the true cause, or perpetuation, of these diseases was well defended, and the reminder about how easily we could be again have outbreaks like those in history gave me goosebumps.
And while we had the book on loan from the library my son frequently pulled it out and looked through the pictures, and asked me a few questions from time to time about small pox, TB, and the like and it prompted several conversations about vaccines, handwashing, and basic sanitation. So I think he liked the book too, although his reading was more pictures and captions rather than full text. And he didn't have any nightmares either.
Well, I finished the book, and thoroughly enjoyed it. The author gave such a neat historical twist to diseases that I thought I was very familiar with already. I learned many new details. I thought the way the author brought the ending together was insightful and well done- the idea of poverty being the true cause, or perpetuation, of these diseases was well defended, and the reminder about how easily we could be again have outbreaks like those in history gave me goosebumps.
And while we had the book on loan from the library my son frequently pulled it out and looked through the pictures, and asked me a few questions from time to time about small pox, TB, and the like and it prompted several conversations about vaccines, handwashing, and basic sanitation. So I think he liked the book too, although his reading was more pictures and captions rather than full text. And he didn't have any nightmares either.
February 22, 2015
This book is not an easy read. I plan to use it with my middle school students as an offering within our Disease and Epidemic unit. I think there are several excellent take off points for discussion. My favorite is the author's statement that the very same people who used disease to show God wanted the New World settled by sending smallpox to kill the natives also argued that slaves were meant to be enslaved as evidenced by their immunity to yellow fever.
April 13, 2012
I think this book is meant for children; however, I found it a very interesting read and informative on how 4 plagues impacted history. Perhaps that is my reading level? The author did a good job in explaining how the 4 plagues developed. I admit, I was not familiar with the Spanish Flu prior to reading this book.
July 26, 2014
How plagues changed history sounds fascinating. This book, is not. The plagues that are featured are given oversimplified reasons for their affect on history. The author shows a contempt for religion, and America. I found the bias made it harder for me to accept what the author states as true or correct, and by the end I was only interested in finishing the book.
August 13, 2018
I thought this was a really great read about how plagues and illnesses have effected humanity over the the centuries. The illustrations are also very nice and make what could be a very depressing book a little lighter. I'm not sure what ages this book is for, I found it in the children's section of my library, but some of the topics and words seem like they would be better suited for middle or high school students while the format caters more to elementary students.
November 14, 2018
My Rating: 3.9 / 5
This book focuses on how 6 of the epidemics caused most mayhem throughout our history:
-> bubonic plague
-> smallpox
-> yellow fever
-> cholera
-> tuberculosis
-> influenza.
The book also mention how these microbes were used as a weapon to win wars, and how it helped to end slavery !!! It's true that appearance doesn't show how powerful your enemy is. Pathogens and mosquitoes has proved it.
An amazing read.
This book focuses on how 6 of the epidemics caused most mayhem throughout our history:
-> bubonic plague
-> smallpox
-> yellow fever
-> cholera
-> tuberculosis
-> influenza.
The book also mention how these microbes were used as a weapon to win wars, and how it helped to end slavery !!! It's true that appearance doesn't show how powerful your enemy is. Pathogens and mosquitoes has proved it.
An amazing read.
Read
February 19, 2019Ironically the format of this book threw me off when it first arrived. I ordered it for potential use with a class on Sickness and Health, and it looked like a children's book. It's not, and in fact the writing is probably a bit too sophisticated for my class which is primarily composed of non-native English speakers. I found it nonetheless very interesting and liked the way the link was made between infectious diseases and progress, or lack thereof.
Read
January 29, 2025Whenever I refer to the book I read in middle school about pandemics that led me to believe I would live through a pandemic in my lifetime, I am referring to this book.
October 8, 2013
Outbreak is a fascinating account of the history of 8 plagues and the dramatic effect these plagues have had on history. The Black Death undermined feudal Europe, Yellow Fever contributed to the end of slavery, Cholera cleaned up cities and allowed there growth.
The downside of a book that covers this much history and creates this many connections among events is it can not possibly include everything of interest or be even-handed. Footnotes would have been highly useful.(There is a list of sources.) I was dismayed that my hero, Semmelweis, didn't get fuller treatment. Barnard covers Semmeweis's contribution: wash hands before delivering babies, but doesn't mention his ghastly end. Excoriated by doctors,and victim of anti-semetic prejudice, his ideas were never accepted in his lifetime; he was confined to an asylum where he was beaten by guards only 14 days after admission and died at 47 years old.
Barnard also includes a distinct political cast to his narrative, most of which is unexceptional, but some of which raised an eyebrow. The rich, which sometimes includes a tiny fraction of the population and sometimes includes virtually all of North America, bear a lot of responsibility by his reckoning. I believe his assertion that the only reason President Wilson: an appalling racist (not mentioned), didn't help us avoid WWII and establish world peace was he sickened with flu is a deeply problematic fantasy. In discussing the conscious avoidance of immunization Barnard doesn't mention Wakefield's financially motivated fraud which started the scare, nor the fact that news organizations gleefully trumpeted the scare while barely reporting the retraction.
Despite all that Outbreak is a fantastically intriguing and incisive introduction to a hugely important topic.
The downside of a book that covers this much history and creates this many connections among events is it can not possibly include everything of interest or be even-handed. Footnotes would have been highly useful.(There is a list of sources.) I was dismayed that my hero, Semmelweis, didn't get fuller treatment. Barnard covers Semmeweis's contribution: wash hands before delivering babies, but doesn't mention his ghastly end. Excoriated by doctors,and victim of anti-semetic prejudice, his ideas were never accepted in his lifetime; he was confined to an asylum where he was beaten by guards only 14 days after admission and died at 47 years old.
Barnard also includes a distinct political cast to his narrative, most of which is unexceptional, but some of which raised an eyebrow. The rich, which sometimes includes a tiny fraction of the population and sometimes includes virtually all of North America, bear a lot of responsibility by his reckoning. I believe his assertion that the only reason President Wilson: an appalling racist (not mentioned), didn't help us avoid WWII and establish world peace was he sickened with flu is a deeply problematic fantasy. In discussing the conscious avoidance of immunization Barnard doesn't mention Wakefield's financially motivated fraud which started the scare, nor the fact that news organizations gleefully trumpeted the scare while barely reporting the retraction.
Despite all that Outbreak is a fantastically intriguing and incisive introduction to a hugely important topic.
May 16, 2012
I love this book. Absolutely love it. The oil paintings depicting sickness whether it be the Black Plague in the 1400s, or the 'romantic' potrayel of Tuberculosis as 'love sickness' or the surgical-mask-wearing-kissing-couple during the Spanish Flu of 1918.
It was in my middle school's library, but I found no problem at all with reading it. I was probably 11 at the time, and though sometimes the wall of text bored me (the part on the disease that decimated Napolean's forces during whatever war bored me greatly for some reason) , I kept checking it out again and again, for it was a very insightful read on the disease itself, its source/cause, the symptoms and how it spread, and how society dealt with it--medication or primitive forms of it, sometimes even celebrating it -look to 'love sickness' = TB for a prominent example).
The history of penicillin, as well as adopting hand washing as mandatory to make sure people in hospitals won't get sick is discussed as each disease or plague is run throughout history. The last chapter takes a grim note that as time goes on, bacteria and viruses evolve very rapidly and grow stronger and stronger every minute. They will become immune to our medicine, and we may potentially face a pandemic if we're not careful. HIV/AIDS is touched upon as an example; though it is not as easily spreadable as say, whooping cough or TB, it is still very dangerous and remains to be a disease that is --as far as I know -- impossible to completely cure.
It was in my middle school's library, but I found no problem at all with reading it. I was probably 11 at the time, and though sometimes the wall of text bored me (the part on the disease that decimated Napolean's forces during whatever war bored me greatly for some reason) , I kept checking it out again and again, for it was a very insightful read on the disease itself, its source/cause, the symptoms and how it spread, and how society dealt with it--medication or primitive forms of it, sometimes even celebrating it -look to 'love sickness' = TB for a prominent example).
The history of penicillin, as well as adopting hand washing as mandatory to make sure people in hospitals won't get sick is discussed as each disease or plague is run throughout history. The last chapter takes a grim note that as time goes on, bacteria and viruses evolve very rapidly and grow stronger and stronger every minute. They will become immune to our medicine, and we may potentially face a pandemic if we're not careful. HIV/AIDS is touched upon as an example; though it is not as easily spreadable as say, whooping cough or TB, it is still very dangerous and remains to be a disease that is --as far as I know -- impossible to completely cure.
January 13, 2017
This book covers six devastating diseases in human history; bubonic plague, smallpox, yellow fever, cholera, tuberculosis, and influenza. The science in the book is fairly basic, you won't need any prior knowledge of microbiology or cell biology.
Each brief chapter discusses a pathogen; its history, epidemiological significance, political effects, and treatments. There are a micrographs accompanying each chapter, as well as illustrations, and a world map depicting the spread of the disease over time. The history is well researched and concise, it never becomes over-burdened or taxing. There is also a glossary and a nice list of sources for further reading.
I think this would be a wonderful book for grade 7 - 9 students who are interested in becoming doctors or scientists.
If you liked this book, you might also enjoy:
✱ The Ghost Map
✱ The Coming Plague (grades 9+)
✱ The Last Town on Earth (fiction)
Each brief chapter discusses a pathogen; its history, epidemiological significance, political effects, and treatments. There are a micrographs accompanying each chapter, as well as illustrations, and a world map depicting the spread of the disease over time. The history is well researched and concise, it never becomes over-burdened or taxing. There is also a glossary and a nice list of sources for further reading.
I think this would be a wonderful book for grade 7 - 9 students who are interested in becoming doctors or scientists.
If you liked this book, you might also enjoy:
✱ The Ghost Map
✱ The Coming Plague (grades 9+)
✱ The Last Town on Earth (fiction)
December 4, 2015
I read a lot of books on the history of disease and medicine. I find the way we've discovered how to overcome disease to be absolutely fascinating. So a lot of the details on the specific plagues talked about in here, like cholera and yellow fever, were familiar to me. But this book, instead of looking closely at the diseases themselves, looks at how those outbreaks affected history. How did the Spanish flu outbreak in WWI lead directly to World War II? Did yellow fever really lead to the end of slavery? Why did black death end feudalism? You'll have to read this book to find out!
Although some of the arguments could feel like a bit of a stretch (in particular the chapter on yellow fever and slavery felt like it was boiling a complex issue down to something too simplistic), overall, this was a really interesting way of looking at how diseases and plagues shape human history and how they can completely change the course of events. The author definitely has a political slant, especially in the last chapter when talking about the importance of making health care accessible to all. This didn't bother me, but is something to be aware of.
A great choice for middle school readers (or possibly upper elementary; I'm going to try book talking it to 5th graders and see) interested in history and/or disease.
Although some of the arguments could feel like a bit of a stretch (in particular the chapter on yellow fever and slavery felt like it was boiling a complex issue down to something too simplistic), overall, this was a really interesting way of looking at how diseases and plagues shape human history and how they can completely change the course of events. The author definitely has a political slant, especially in the last chapter when talking about the importance of making health care accessible to all. This didn't bother me, but is something to be aware of.
A great choice for middle school readers (or possibly upper elementary; I'm going to try book talking it to 5th graders and see) interested in history and/or disease.
May 23, 2012
Very short, to-the-point, interesting. Explains the impact that six major disease epidemics - of smallpox, cholera, yellow fever, influenza, bubonic plague, and tuberculosis - had on the world in terms of everything from politics to war to religion. It's very brief - just a couple of pages, illustrated with paintings, pictures of microbes, and maps of the epidemics, on each disease, but contains a lot that I didn't know before (especially about yellow fever). And, surprisingly for the subject matter, it's interesting without being viscerally disgusting (or, for that matter, making me cry). Mostly scientific and historical facts.
I especially like the bit at the end that lays out our need - from a practical, rather than the obvious philanthropic, point of view - to provide good health care to everyone. Because the poor can often afford just enough medicine to kill the weak microbes in their systems, which leaves only the strong ones, and then we wind up with superbugs. As the book says, even unlimited wealth can't defeat a microbe that's resistant to everything.
I especially like the bit at the end that lays out our need - from a practical, rather than the obvious philanthropic, point of view - to provide good health care to everyone. Because the poor can often afford just enough medicine to kill the weak microbes in their systems, which leaves only the strong ones, and then we wind up with superbugs. As the book says, even unlimited wealth can't defeat a microbe that's resistant to everything.
August 4, 2017
I am not a history buff in the least, at least not the way it was taught in my high school. However, I absolutely loved this book! I am not squeamish about illnesses at all (at least reading about them), so the few paragraphs each "chapter" about the illnesses' symptoms and progressions did not bother me.
However, the way that the epidemics affected the economies, politics, and medical standards at the time were interesting. I had no idea that yellow fever had anything to do with slavery, that TB had any bearing on our understanding of beauty now, or that the UN's sanctions wrt Iraq had anything to do with cholera. The last chapter gave me a lot to think about wrt to the power of pharmaceutical companies, too, and why they're such a big business, or why universal health care internationally is good for everyone, not just the poor.
I will definitely be buying a copy of this book for my classroom library, and praising it in workshops in the future. I'm so glad I found it at the library!
However, the way that the epidemics affected the economies, politics, and medical standards at the time were interesting. I had no idea that yellow fever had anything to do with slavery, that TB had any bearing on our understanding of beauty now, or that the UN's sanctions wrt Iraq had anything to do with cholera. The last chapter gave me a lot to think about wrt to the power of pharmaceutical companies, too, and why they're such a big business, or why universal health care internationally is good for everyone, not just the poor.
I will definitely be buying a copy of this book for my classroom library, and praising it in workshops in the future. I'm so glad I found it at the library!
August 27, 2014
I read this before, way too quickly, and want to savor it.
Went through the Kindle edition, and as I recall the hardcopy had some interesting illustrations that are missing here. It covers a number of plagues throughout history in Western Civilization, but doesn't get far below the surface. A quick read and general coverage for the person who hasn't heard of a lot of these illnesses (such as schoolchildren), but dissatisfying in terms of depth of treatment of epidemiology, biology, or virus reservoirs, and skips rather lightly over the entire topic. It is readable, though, and makes the point that the average person needs to know about these plagues of the past in order to help prevent future plagues (like getting vaccinated, or understanding quarantines). It doesn't compare to the depth or research in "Spillover", but will be more approachable by the average non-scientist reader.
Went through the Kindle edition, and as I recall the hardcopy had some interesting illustrations that are missing here. It covers a number of plagues throughout history in Western Civilization, but doesn't get far below the surface. A quick read and general coverage for the person who hasn't heard of a lot of these illnesses (such as schoolchildren), but dissatisfying in terms of depth of treatment of epidemiology, biology, or virus reservoirs, and skips rather lightly over the entire topic. It is readable, though, and makes the point that the average person needs to know about these plagues of the past in order to help prevent future plagues (like getting vaccinated, or understanding quarantines). It doesn't compare to the depth or research in "Spillover", but will be more approachable by the average non-scientist reader.
December 17, 2011
A wonderfully fascinating, if too short, look at several of the major plagues that shaped the world we live in. From the Black Death that created a middle class from the ashes of the old feudal order to how Europeans conquered the New World, only with the aid of their valuable "ally" Smallpox to the Spanish Flu that influenced the peace at the end of World War I, thereby setting the stage for World War II. Any of those morons who don't vaccinate their kids, should be forced to read this book and others like it. Do they really want to go back to the world of less than a century ago? What would the sufferers of Typhus or Yellow Fever say to these morons? Which world would "they" rather live in? The road to the mostly disease-free society we live in is paved with the skulls of plague victims and lined with tombstones.
August 25, 2013
I put this on hold at the library, not realizing this is was a children's non fiction book. Ah, well, my Intro to Library Science professor said "If you want to get basic information on a topic, start with a children's nonfiction book." So I gave this book a shot. The pictures are great in this book, and there is a lot of text covering 6 different plagues occuring in the last thousand years. If is rather informative, but I'm not sure which kid would be interested in this. Despite its short length, I found parts of it rather dense. I had to put it down and come back to it throughout the day. It is very informative, which is a good thing in a non fiction book. So, if you have any interest in the Black Plague, Yellow Fever, and the Spanish Flu, and have little to no prior knowledge on the subject, I would recommend this book. If not, give it a pass.
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July 2, 2013Interesting account of the impact of epidemics on human history. It's amazing what a difference they have made. It's also a cautionary tale. The author's bias is for immunizations. I would expand the warning to public health in general - if we want to save lives, we need to avoid known risk factors, including unclean drinking water, mosquitoes, multiple sex partners (and especially gay sex), etc. as we seek to understand more completely how diseases breed and spread. Even as in history many people were offended by what was required to stop disease and resisted, so it is today. We need to TELL THE TRUTH about risky behavior so people can make INFORMED decisions about their behavior and the risks they incur.
July 16, 2013
An enjoyable albeit brief discussion of the tremendous yet often neglected story of the ways in which a variety of diseases have impacted on human history. Split by each disease, the book recounts the impact each has had in the context in which it emerged. I found particularly interesting the section of Spanish influenza, both for the discussion about the nature of the flu virus and also for the speculation about the impact that flu had on Wilson's ability to make Versailles a fairer treaty.
Mu only qualm was that I felt this book could have been greatly expanded as it is a VERY short work. But for anyone interested in a brief discussion of a history from a new perspective then I would highly recommend this book.
Mu only qualm was that I felt this book could have been greatly expanded as it is a VERY short work. But for anyone interested in a brief discussion of a history from a new perspective then I would highly recommend this book.
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