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Between Hope and Fear: A History of Vaccines and Human Immunity
A smart and compelling examination of the science of immunity, the public policy implications of vaccine denial, and the real-world outcomes of failing to vaccinate. If you have a child in school, you may have heard stories of long-dormant diseases suddenly reappearing―cases of measles, mumps, rubella, and whooping cough cropping up everywhere from elementary schools to Ivy League universities because a select group of parents refuse to vaccinate their children. Between Hope and Fear tells the remarkable story of vaccine-preventable infectious diseases and their social and political implications. While detailing the history of vaccine invention, Kinch reveals the ominous reality that our victories against vaccine-preventable diseases are not permanent―and could easily be undone. In the tradition of John Barry’s The Great Influenza and Siddhartha Mukherjee’s The Emperor of All Maladies, Between Hope and Fear relates the remarkable intersection of science, technology and disease that has helped eradicate many of the deadliest plagues known to man. 8 pages of color photographs
352 pages, Hardcover
First published July 3, 2018
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1172 people want to read
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January 1, 2021
Започваме новата година с надеждата, че краят на пандемията е близо, но също и със страха, че може би никога няма да се върнем към "нормалния" живот. Какво точно ще се случи зависи най-вече от ефективността на ваксините и желанието на хората да ги поставят. Ето защо е важно всеки да познава историята на инфекциозните заболявания, ваксините и човешкия имунитет. Книгата на Майкъл Кинч е най-добрият подарък за вашите близки в тези трудни времена. Прочетете я възможно най-скоро и особено ако се колебаете дали ползите от имунизацията са повече от рисковете.
Позволете ми лирично отклонение. Чел съм много книги за история на медицината. Въпреки това от "Между надеждата и страха" научих факти, които не съм срещал никъде другаде. Първата ваксина срещу едра шарка (вариола) не е създадена от Едуард Дженър, както много лекари си мислят. Той първи е описал и представил резултати с нея, като по този начин я е "патентовал" на свое име, но всъщност идеята за ваксинация е приложена по-рано от английския фермер Бенджамин Джести, който заразява синовете си с гной от кравешка шарка (подобна, но безопасна за хората болест). Впоследствие никой от тях не се разболял от смъртоносната вариола. Джести обаче не е описал получените резултати и сега името му е практически неизвестно за широката публика.
Книгата е написана през 2018 г., съответно не разглежда актуалната пандемия, но навлиза в дълбочина за отминали такива. Ще научите какво се е случило по време на Атинската и Антонинова чума (вариола), както и колко детски живота е отнела ширещата се в началото на XX век дифтерия. Преобладават историческите описания за сметка на сложните имунологични механизми. Това е добре, защото широката публика се влияе повече от въздействащи примери, отколкото от сухи научни факти. Ако прочетете книгата, ще научите за състезанието с кучешки впрягове до Ноум, което се провежда и до днес. А в миналото е трябвало да достави дифтерийни антитоксини до изолираното градче в Аляска. Ще прочетете дори за отровния "Български чадър" при атентатите срещу Георги Марков и Владимир Костов.
Книга за ваксините не може да подмине темата и за най-големия шарлатанин в историята на медицината - Андрю Уейкфилд. Той изфабрикува данните си за несъществуваща връзка между ваксината срещу морбили, паротит и рубеола и аутизма. Малцина знаят, че той е бил в жесток конфликт на интереси, като е получавал хонорари от адвокат, защитаващ предполагаемо увредени от ваксина хора. В същото време Уейкфилд е разработвал и собствена ваксина срещу морбили. Спекулациите му бързо са отхвърлени като абсурдни, статията в престижното научно списание The Lancet е оттеглена, а медицинските права на Уейкфилд са прекратени. Но вредата вече е нанесна. И до днес има родители, които фанатично вярват на английския шарлатанин, въпреки всички доказателства за неговите измами. Още по-лошо е, че това не са хора от маргинални групи, а най-вече заможни и образовани родители. Те се заблуждават, че разбират повече от експертите в областта, защото са направили "тяхно проучване". Борбата за популяризиране на научната истина и ваксиниране на децата ще става все по-трудна.
В заключение, просто си купете книгата. Ще научите ужасно много полезни неща. Аз със сигурност научих, а това вече не се случва толкова често, поне в медицинската сфера. Книгата е написана увлекателно и се чете лесно. Подарете си знание през новата година.
Позволете ми лирично отклонение. Чел съм много книги за история на медицината. Въпреки това от "Между надеждата и страха" научих факти, които не съм срещал никъде другаде. Първата ваксина срещу едра шарка (вариола) не е създадена от Едуард Дженър, както много лекари си мислят. Той първи е описал и представил резултати с нея, като по този начин я е "патентовал" на свое име, но всъщност идеята за ваксинация е приложена по-рано от английския фермер Бенджамин Джести, който заразява синовете си с гной от кравешка шарка (подобна, но безопасна за хората болест). Впоследствие никой от тях не се разболял от смъртоносната вариола. Джести обаче не е описал получените резултати и сега името му е практически неизвестно за широката публика.
Книгата е написана през 2018 г., съответно не разглежда актуалната пандемия, но навлиза в дълбочина за отминали такива. Ще научите какво се е случило по време на Атинската и Антонинова чума (вариола), както и колко детски живота е отнела ширещата се в началото на XX век дифтерия. Преобладават историческите описания за сметка на сложните имунологични механизми. Това е добре, защото широката публика се влияе повече от въздействащи примери, отколкото от сухи научни факти. Ако прочетете книгата, ще научите за състезанието с кучешки впрягове до Ноум, което се провежда и до днес. А в миналото е трябвало да достави дифтерийни антитоксини до изолираното градче в Аляска. Ще прочетете дори за отровния "Български чадър" при атентатите срещу Георги Марков и Владимир Костов.
Книга за ваксините не може да подмине темата и за най-големия шарлатанин в историята на медицината - Андрю Уейкфилд. Той изфабрикува данните си за несъществуваща връзка между ваксината срещу морбили, паротит и рубеола и аутизма. Малцина знаят, че той е бил в жесток конфликт на интереси, като е получавал хонорари от адвокат, защитаващ предполагаемо увредени от ваксина хора. В същото време Уейкфилд е разработвал и собствена ваксина срещу морбили. Спекулациите му бързо са отхвърлени като абсурдни, статията в престижното научно списание The Lancet е оттеглена, а медицинските права на Уейкфилд са прекратени. Но вредата вече е нанесна. И до днес има родители, които фанатично вярват на английския шарлатанин, въпреки всички доказателства за неговите измами. Още по-лошо е, че това не са хора от маргинални групи, а най-вече заможни и образовани родители. Те се заблуждават, че разбират повече от експертите в областта, защото са направили "тяхно проучване". Борбата за популяризиране на научната истина и ваксиниране на децата ще става все по-трудна.
В заключение, просто си купете книгата. Ще научите ужасно много полезни неща. Аз със сигурност научих, а това вече не се случва толкова често, поне в медицинската сфера. Книгата е написана увлекателно и се чете лесно. Подарете си знание през новата година.
December 13, 2020
Между надеждата и страха човечеството дири спасение от болестите: http://knigolandia.info/book-review/m...
В своята книга той проследява колко интересна е историята на ваксинирането, от какви наглед магически обреди се започва, какви са били първите антиваксъри, появили се на мига, често адски богати, разказва за ред изключителни учени и за един абсолютен провален, който наврежда пряко на света, както навярно само разни диктатори са успявали: а именно Андрю Уейкфийлд и фалшивото му и платено проучване, свързващо ваксините с аутизма. И макар след това пак и пак да бе доказвано, че такава връзка няма, появата на социалните мрежи позволи на тия глупости не само да живеят, но и да се разпространяват като най-опасните инфекциозни болести.
CIELA Books
http://knigolandia.info/book-review/m...
В своята книга той проследява колко интересна е историята на ваксинирането, от какви наглед магически обреди се започва, какви са били първите антиваксъри, появили се на мига, често адски богати, разказва за ред изключителни учени и за един абсолютен провален, който наврежда пряко на света, както навярно само разни диктатори са успявали: а именно Андрю Уейкфийлд и фалшивото му и платено проучване, свързващо ваксините с аутизма. И макар след това пак и пак да бе доказвано, че такава връзка няма, появата на социалните мрежи позволи на тия глупости не само да живеят, но и да се разпространяват като най-опасните инфекциозни болести.
CIELA Books
http://knigolandia.info/book-review/m...
January 14, 2021
“Всеки има право на свое собствено мнение, но не и на свои собствени факти” (сенатор Даниел Патрик Монихан)
Посегнах на тази книга, не защото темата е актуална или защото се колебая дали да се ваксинирам (нямам колебания, че ще го направя). Поради някои семейни обстоятелства интересът ми към научните открития в медицината и тяхната история ме вълнува от отдавна.
Проф. Кинч проследява историята на тези непретенциозни човешки инструменти за борба със заразните патогени – от първите интуитивни опити до модерните ваксини на 21 век. Наричам ги непретенциозни, защото мощните антибиотици от ново поколение засенчват приноса на ваксините. Както и проф. Кинч обяснява в книгата си обаче, с появата на все по-еволюирали вируси и тяхната резистентност към антибиотично лечение, ваксините са начинът да елиминираме в зачатък опасни нови или възродени инфекции. Проблемът става особено актуален в условия на климатични промени – по-високите температури и влажният климат са благоприятна среда за хищни патогени.
Бактериите и вирусите са с нас, сред нас и в нас през цялата човешка история. Те са предопределяли изхода от битки (Пелопонеските войни, Наполеоновите походи, обсадата на Гранада), осуетявали са грандиозни строителни проекти (Суецкия канал) и са променяли хода на историята (Черната смърт, която слага край на Средновековието). Чак от края на 19 век обаче е отбелязан реален напредък в борбата срещу смъртоносни зарази – немската (или по-точно пруската) школа, водена от Роберт Кох, и френската, представена от Луи Пастьор. След Втората световна война гравитационният център на научноизследователската дейност в тази област се премества в САЩ.
Днес, благодарение на горните двама, както и на хора като Емил Ру, Габриел Андрал, Емил фон Беринг, Валтер Хесе, Паул Ерлих – бащата на имунологията, болести като тиф, дифтерит, рубеола, едра шарка, магарешка кашлица, паротит и полио са исторически бележки, а не факт от ежедневието.
Всеки, който е спорил някога с антивкасър, знае колко изтощителен може да бъде такъв спор. В борбата между факти и емоции, първите често са оборени от агресивна емоционалност и аргументи тип “ами защото така”. И ако невежеството на първите антиваксъри, които са вярвали, че ще се превърнат в крави след поставяне на ваксина срещу едра шарка, може да бъде извинено, то невежеството базирано на дезинформация, фалшиви новини и източници като “една жена ми каза” вече не предизвиква снизходителни усмивки. Този тип невежество е особено опасно, защото застрашава колективното здраве на човечеството.
Книгата не се чете особено лесно, но е много ограмотяваща, и макар че преводът й далеч не е от добрите, си струва да се прочете, най-малкото защото типът знание, който ще получим от нея, е есенциално необходим за здравната култура на всеки човек. Препоръчвам по темата и немския сериал “Шарите Берлин”, в който Кох и неговият екип изолират патогени, експериментират със серуми и други такива полезни неща.
“През ранните години на XXI век вървим обратно към катастрофалните загуби, които са преживели хората в началото на XX век.”
Посегнах на тази книга, не защото темата е актуална или защото се колебая дали да се ваксинирам (нямам колебания, че ще го направя). Поради някои семейни обстоятелства интересът ми към научните открития в медицината и тяхната история ме вълнува от отдавна.
Проф. Кинч проследява историята на тези непретенциозни човешки инструменти за борба със заразните патогени – от първите интуитивни опити до модерните ваксини на 21 век. Наричам ги непретенциозни, защото мощните антибиотици от ново поколение засенчват приноса на ваксините. Както и проф. Кинч обяснява в книгата си обаче, с появата на все по-еволюирали вируси и тяхната резистентност към антибиотично лечение, ваксините са начинът да елиминираме в зачатък опасни нови или възродени инфекции. Проблемът става особено актуален в условия на климатични промени – по-високите температури и влажният климат са благоприятна среда за хищни патогени.
Бактериите и вирусите са с нас, сред нас и в нас през цялата човешка история. Те са предопределяли изхода от битки (Пелопонеските войни, Наполеоновите походи, обсадата на Гранада), осуетявали са грандиозни строителни проекти (Суецкия канал) и са променяли хода на историята (Черната смърт, която слага край на Средновековието). Чак от края на 19 век обаче е отбелязан реален напредък в борбата срещу смъртоносни зарази – немската (или по-точно пруската) школа, водена от Роберт Кох, и френската, представена от Луи Пастьор. След Втората световна война гравитационният център на научноизследователската дейност в тази област се премества в САЩ.
Днес, благодарение на горните двама, както и на хора като Емил Ру, Габриел Андрал, Емил фон Беринг, Валтер Хесе, Паул Ерлих – бащата на имунологията, болести като тиф, дифтерит, рубеола, едра шарка, магарешка кашлица, паротит и полио са исторически бележки, а не факт от ежедневието.
Всеки, който е спорил някога с антивкасър, знае колко изтощителен може да бъде такъв спор. В борбата между факти и емоции, първите често са оборени от агресивна емоционалност и аргументи тип “ами защото така”. И ако невежеството на първите антиваксъри, които са вярвали, че ще се превърнат в крави след поставяне на ваксина срещу едра шарка, може да бъде извинено, то невежеството базирано на дезинформация, фалшиви новини и източници като “една жена ми каза” вече не предизвиква снизходителни усмивки. Този тип невежество е особено опасно, защото застрашава колективното здраве на човечеството.
Книгата не се чете особено лесно, но е много ограмотяваща, и макар че преводът й далеч не е от добрите, си струва да се прочете, най-малкото защото типът знание, който ще получим от нея, е есенциално необходим за здравната култура на всеки човек. Препоръчвам по темата и немския сериал “Шарите Берлин”, в който Кох и неговият екип изолират патогени, експериментират със серуми и други такива полезни неща.
“През ранните години на XXI век вървим обратно към катастрофалните загуби, които са преживели хората в началото на XX век.”
April 10, 2021
С две думи: Това е изключително увлекателен преглед на световната история през призмата на болести и пандемии и човешката изобретателност в битките с тях. Изумително е колко далеч сме стигнали, наистина е изумително. От походите на Александър Македонски, Ханибал, през залеза на Римската империя със смъртта на Марк Аврелий, идването на европейци в Америка, до наши дни — човекът срещу епидемиите. Авторът информира, но е великолепен разказвач. Не съм предполагал, че в Китай първите опити за орба с едра шарка например са отпреди 1000 години и са следните: Вземали струпеи от хора, преживели сравнително леко заболяването, те се сушели и се стривали на прах, който се вдухвал в носа на здрави деца. С течение на вре��ето това се превърнало в ритуал, правело се най-вероятно около 5-ия рожден ден. Децата можело и да проявят леки симптоми на заболяването, но се спестявал смъртния риск от заболяването в по-късна възраст. Тази процедура се пазела ревниво и се предавала от уста на уста столетия наред, докато не била усвоена от пътуващите по Пътя на коприната и разпространена в Османската империя. Това сега се нарича “назална инсуфлация”.
Изкушавам се да преразказвам по памет големи части от това колкото полезно, толкова и увлекателно четиво. И всичко е поднесено достъпно, леко, с чувство за хумор както само един лекар може 🙂
Във време на поголовна дезинформация и безсрамно-фалшиви новини, тази книга информира, държи нащрек, но и по някакъв начин успокоява.
Д-р Майкъл Кинч споделя моята надежда, че движенията срещу ваксините са плод по-скоро на невежество, отколкото на злонамереност.
Въпросът обаче стои — невежеството престъпно ли е само по себе си? Извинение ли е невежеството?
И ако невежеството е в управлението на която и да е държава и се самовъзпроизвежда, не е ли то по-опасно от най-опасната зараза?
С отличен превод на Мария Иванова, в редакцията на Христо Блажев.
Препоръчвам горещо!
Изкушавам се да преразказвам по памет големи части от това колкото полезно, толкова и увлекателно четиво. И всичко е поднесено достъпно, леко, с чувство за хумор както само един лекар може 🙂
Във време на поголовна дезинформация и безсрамно-фалшиви новини, тази книга информира, държи нащрек, но и по някакъв начин успокоява.
Д-р Майкъл Кинч споделя моята надежда, че движенията срещу ваксините са плод по-скоро на невежество, отколкото на злонамереност.
Въпросът обаче стои — невежеството престъпно ли е само по себе си? Извинение ли е невежеството?
И ако невежеството е в управлението на която и да е държава и се самовъзпроизвежда, не е ли то по-опасно от най-опасната зараза?
С отличен превод на Мария Иванова, в редакцията на Христо Блажев.
Препоръчвам горещо!
September 22, 2018
In spite of my medical background, I found this a very difficult book to read. Not necessarily because the material was difficult to understand, but because there was actually too much material and it is presented in a confusing style. Probably more biochemistry than the average person wants to know, and certainly far too much information about the researchers' families and personal lives than is necessary. At the end, I'm not sure my understanding is any greater as a result of reading the book.
June 19, 2022
“Всеки има право на собствено мнение, но не и на собствени факти!”
December 30, 2018
As important as the crux of the argument is, as pertinent as the history of anti-vaccination is to modern denialists, etc., this is both a dull and a discursive book. Some of us do appreciate connections between medical giants and support of Dryfuss, it isn't really pertinent. Excellent pratical advice in the final chapter and a strong vision of the future in the penultimate chapter, these two shouldn't be missed by anyone.
Library copy
Library copy
April 17, 2023
Страхотна книга! Някой се е сетил да напише история за моя архивраг -вируси и болестотворните бактерии, нещо между история и популярна медицина (винаги съм чела за тях, опознай врага си са казали хората). Не знам защо се бях заблудила, че тя е повече за Ковид (писана е преди това), може би защото се появи тогава, заедно с доста ковидни и не ми се четяха теории (моето любимо ИК почна да издава конспиративни теории и ми е тъжно), предполагам, че след някоя друга година ще има нещо по-изчерпателния за втория САРС, който ни се струпа от 2000 година насам и който се превърна в световна пандемия.
Не, книгата е писана, за да убеди американците да ваксинират децата си и да не стават жертва на пропаганда, тука вече се смях още на Въведението, защо му е на човек да убеждава най-голямата демокрация на света? Ами точно защото е най-голямата демокрация и позволява на своя земя групи като амиши, сума ти секти включително скрито многоженство и тръмпари, които пиха белина срещу Ковид 19, та да, явно има нужда, но после пак изненада най-големите пандемии пламват в добре образовани семейства и университетите, не говорим само за тези затворени и изолирани общности или за емигранти, не говорим за Африка или Индия. Това вече не мога да си обясня.
Защо високобразованите богати хора не вярват на науката и фактите? Май няма и да си го обясня. Книгата я взех за петарка, но аз знам, че на нашето общество има нужда от нея, но и някой да му я прочете, понеже ние сами си "преценяме" едно време не си преценяхме, понеже сега сме свободни, а тогава не сме били, но всички сме здраво набоцкани и си имаме от всичко.
Всъщност ваксините са били част от нашето общество около 1000 години(защото всичко започва и свършва с Поднебесната. Точка!) а морбилито с нас едва от стотина години. И макар да са минали доста хлъзгав път, авторът не пише възхвала на ваксините, показва всички случки и недоразумения в повечето случаи коствали повече от един човешки живот, но говорим, че само преди 200 години най-уважавани западни лекари не са подкрепяли елементарната хигиена, та пак жертвите са значително малко.
Сега ще кажете: ама имаме имунна система, ми имате, ама точно тя изби хорица от последния вирус и още избива от много други , така че няма какво да коментираме, антибиотиците се превърнаха в тик-так и те и умират (бактерофаги върнете се и е борете с нас, предозирахме с тях!).
Така че болестите винаги са писали човешката история.
Това е моя теория, тук напълно доказана (благодаря д-р Кинч!) а и че която и да е болест няма да ни избие всичките. Разбира се, че няма! Може да избие 90% от населението в това число може да влезете вие и вашите близки -не е много готино, нали? Това не е компютърна игра, макар че вероятността всеки да стане зомбита или гъба да е минимална, има много вируси и микроорганизми, които могат да ни разкажат играта и да ни рестартират. Реален пример: вече не сме боцкани за вариола и избухне ли, заминаваме с нашата глобализация (да си изпеем Бай, бай лайф!) Та защо да не ползваме наука и фактите и да не живеем с нашия си век, а искаме да връщаме Средновековие?
(Хей, нямаше го примера с Екатерина Велика и нейното публично ваксиниране) аз нямам медицинско образование, не съм нищо особено: просто една писателка с коефициент на интелигентност над нормата според разни тестчета и ми е интересна темата, не знам дали ще впечатли специалистите, но хора от хуманитарните науки със сигурност. Моята имунна система се равнява на бойните ми умения (куцат и двете) Но аз не мога да повярвам в конспиративни теории, аз си го измислям в разкази и истории. Резистентна съм. Но много хора вече и тук не са (при нас всичко идва 20 години по-късно)
Не, книгата е писана, за да убеди американците да ваксинират децата си и да не стават жертва на пропаганда, тука вече се смях още на Въведението, защо му е на човек да убеждава най-голямата демокрация на света? Ами точно защото е най-голямата демокрация и позволява на своя земя групи като амиши, сума ти секти включително скрито многоженство и тръмпари, които пиха белина срещу Ковид 19, та да, явно има нужда, но после пак изненада най-големите пандемии пламват в добре образовани семейства и университетите, не говорим само за тези затворени и изолирани общности или за емигранти, не говорим за Африка или Индия. Това вече не мога да си обясня.
Защо високобразованите богати хора не вярват на науката и фактите? Май няма и да си го обясня. Книгата я взех за петарка, но аз знам, че на нашето общество има нужда от нея, но и някой да му я прочете, понеже ние сами си "преценяме" едно време не си преценяхме, понеже сега сме свободни, а тогава не сме били, но всички сме здраво набоцкани и си имаме от всичко.
Всъщност ваксините са били част от нашето общество около 1000 години(защото всичко започва и свършва с Поднебесната. Точка!) а морбилито с нас едва от стотина години. И макар да са минали доста хлъзгав път, авторът не пише възхвала на ваксините, показва всички случки и недоразумения в повечето случаи коствали повече от един човешки живот, но говорим, че само преди 200 години най-уважавани западни лекари не са подкрепяли елементарната хигиена, та пак жертвите са значително малко.
Сега ще кажете: ама имаме имунна система, ми имате, ама точно тя изби хорица от последния вирус и още избива от много други , така че няма какво да коментираме, антибиотиците се превърнаха в тик-так и те и умират (бактерофаги върнете се и е борете с нас, предозирахме с тях!).
Така че болестите винаги са писали човешката история.
Това е моя теория, тук напълно доказана (благодаря д-р Кинч!) а и че която и да е болест няма да ни избие всичките. Разбира се, че няма! Може да избие 90% от населението в това число може да влезете вие и вашите близки -не е много готино, нали? Това не е компютърна игра, макар че вероятността всеки да стане зомбита или гъба да е минимална, има много вируси и микроорганизми, които могат да ни разкажат играта и да ни рестартират. Реален пример: вече не сме боцкани за вариола и избухне ли, заминаваме с нашата глобализация (да си изпеем Бай, бай лайф!) Та защо да не ползваме наука и фактите и да не живеем с нашия си век, а искаме да връщаме Средновековие?
(Хей, нямаше го примера с Екатерина Велика и нейното публично ваксиниране) аз нямам медицинско образование, не съм нищо особено: просто една писателка с коефициент на интелигентност над нормата според разни тестчета и ми е интересна темата, не знам дали ще впечатли специалистите, но хора от хуманитарните науки със сигурност. Моята имунна система се равнява на бойните ми умения (куцат и двете) Но аз не мога да повярвам в конспиративни теории, аз си го измислям в разкази и истории. Резистентна съм. Но много хора вече и тук не са (при нас всичко идва 20 години по-късно)
March 29, 2021
This book is a must read if you are a biology/microbiology/immunology nerd like me. It's also a must read for every sane person who's desperately trying to understand why is this mass hysteria about vaccines happening. It's absolutely intriguing to read the most detailed history of pathogens, vaccines and past pandemics while we are living in the biggest global pandemic since the Spanish flu. There's also a detailed description of every anti-vax movement during the ages and the reason (also the true story of course) behind every single one conspiracy. I am so happy that I found this book and I can't wait to read his other ones.
The only negative thing that I could say is that Prof. Kinch's love for historical facts might be a bit too much at times as the quantity of information per page might make your head ache but this is the essence of scientists- always looking for the reason why something is the way it is.
The only negative thing that I could say is that Prof. Kinch's love for historical facts might be a bit too much at times as the quantity of information per page might make your head ache but this is the essence of scientists- always looking for the reason why something is the way it is.
July 28, 2021
Очертава се това да е една от най-добрите научнопопулярни книги, които съм чела тази година. Със сигурност е много добра инвестиция на време. Научих, че епидемиите са сред основните причини за залеза на Римската империя, че в една от епидемиите на античния свят Александър Македонски губи живота си, че бактериите допринасят за това да дебелеем, че вероятно участват в етиологията и патогенезата на заболявания като диабет, множествена склероза и аутизъм. Книгата разказва историята на великите учени в медицината, откриватели на лекарства и ваксини, революционери в своята област, благодарение на които сега сме живи и четем за техния труден, но вдъхновяващ път към успеха, който доказва думите на един от тях (Луи Пастьор), че късметът спохожда само подготвения ум. Иска ми се всички антиваксъри и алтернативни лечители, мислещи се за по-умни от тези хора, да прочетат книгата, но за съжаление, те не четат книги.
September 14, 2018
Gift this book to your your antivaxxer friends so they can better understand the history and science of vaccines.
The author does a fairly good job of explaining complicated medical concepts. He is obviously very interested in everything from European military history to the private lives of prominent scientists, so I learned quite a bit.
However his style can be clunky and wordy and the tangents he goes down can feel like one long non sequitur.
Sometimes hard to stay on track if you tend to read quickly, as he jumps from topic to topic and back . It would have been nice to see a visual timeline illustrating the years of major medical achievements paired with the scientist responsible.
That being said, for someone like me who is fascinated by the human body and it’s many friends and foes living within our microbiome, this was a fascinating and educational read.
The author does a fairly good job of explaining complicated medical concepts. He is obviously very interested in everything from European military history to the private lives of prominent scientists, so I learned quite a bit.
However his style can be clunky and wordy and the tangents he goes down can feel like one long non sequitur.
Sometimes hard to stay on track if you tend to read quickly, as he jumps from topic to topic and back . It would have been nice to see a visual timeline illustrating the years of major medical achievements paired with the scientist responsible.
That being said, for someone like me who is fascinated by the human body and it’s many friends and foes living within our microbiome, this was a fascinating and educational read.
September 20, 2020
Started this book in Feb after a trip to the Mutter Museum, having no idea what this year had planned. Just finished it today. Unsurprisingly, the author has strong feelings about the misinformation and ignorance surrounding the anti-vax movement and the concept of herd immunity as most people understand it. The last chapter is all about the impact global warming is having on the resurgence of old diseases and the spread of existing ones (and hemorrhagic fevers, which, yikes). It's a lot to chew on, but he ends on a hopeful note. Vaccinate your kids. Get a flu shot. Wash your hands.
October 29, 2021
This was not a short book, and it took me several weeks to get through it. It is certainly thorough; the author goes into substantial historical detail on the development of vaccines, on the history of disease, on the science of the immune system and even addresses the development of the anti-vax community.
While I felt the author did spend too much time on historical tangents, on the whole it was a good read for anybody who wants to understand vaccines and immunity better.
While I felt the author did spend too much time on historical tangents, on the whole it was a good read for anybody who wants to understand vaccines and immunity better.
March 6, 2021
Много навременна книга, енциклопедична история на инфекциозните заболявания, пандемиите и борбата с тях от античността до наши дни, от първите интуитивни стъпки до дългогодишните опити за създаване на ваксини.
Книгата е своеобразна почит към героите в тази борба, към известните на широката публика и към онези, чиито имена са потънали във времето, към останалите в сянката на използвалите труда им.
Проф. Кинч отправя и ясно предупреждение за възможното възраждане на отдавна забравени болести, водещи до трайно осакатяване и/или много висока смъртност. С появата на нови патогени и нарастващата устойчивост към антибиотици на съществуващите, превенцията срещу познати предотвратими и нови заболявания е ваксинирането. Авторът е посочил много примери, в които манипулирани или опорочени изследвания, зле тълкувани резултати или натиск на общественото мнение, подет от хора с пари и известни имена, спъват масовото ваксиниране, налагат замяна на успешно действащи ваксини и застрашават общественото здраве.
Анриваксърството е по-опияняващо и необоримо в правотата си от коя да е религия, макар убежденията на изповядващите го да почиват главно на невежество, особено непростимо сега. Нито в предишни разговори, нито в зачестилите напоследък покрай сегашната пандемия, съм попадала на противник на ваксините, който да е чувал за Андрю Уейкфийлд и за платената му провокация, маскирана като изследване. Не, те всички просто знаят, убедени са, че ваксините причиняват аутизъм, защото на-еди-кой-си-на-шуренайка-му-на-комшийката-й детето... Затова много се съмнявам, че посланието и знанията на тази книга ще стигнат до такива хора. Те имат нужда от тях, но за съжаление се образоват единствено от социалните мрежи и съседката.
И накрая една доброжелателна забележка към Сиела:
Книгата е издадена доста преди актуалната пандемия, тоест никакво бързане не оправдава грешките или небрежността на целия редакторско-коректорски отбор. Имена са изписани различно в два съседни абзаца (Йозеф - Джоузеф, Бинз - Бинц, шарка - тетанус), а историята на Джим между стр. 211 и 215 е тотално изгубена в превода с несвързаните си изречения.
Разбира се това не намалява стойността на текста и информацията в него, но много бих искала поне такива ценни и необходими книги да бъдат издавани безупречно.
Книгата е своеобразна почит към героите в тази борба, към известните на широката публика и към онези, чиито имена са потънали във времето, към останалите в сянката на използвалите труда им.
Проф. Кинч отправя и ясно предупреждение за възможното възраждане на отдавна забравени болести, водещи до трайно осакатяване и/или много висока смъртност. С появата на нови патогени и нарастващата устойчивост към антибиотици на съществуващите, превенцията срещу познати предотвратими и нови заболявания е ваксинирането. Авторът е посочил много примери, в които манипулирани или опорочени изследвания, зле тълкувани резултати или натиск на общественото мнение, подет от хора с пари и известни имена, спъват масовото ваксиниране, налагат замяна на успешно действащи ваксини и застрашават общественото здраве.
Анриваксърството е по-опияняващо и необоримо в правотата си от коя да е религия, макар убежденията на изповядващите го да почиват главно на невежество, особено непростимо сега. Нито в предишни разговори, нито в зачестилите напоследък покрай сегашната пандемия, съм попадала на противник на ваксините, който да е чувал за Андрю Уейкфийлд и за платената му провокация, маскирана като изследване. Не, те всички просто знаят, убедени са, че ваксините причиняват аутизъм, защото на-еди-кой-си-на-шуренайка-му-на-комшийката-й детето... Затова много се съмнявам, че посланието и знанията на тази книга ще стигнат до такива хора. Те имат нужда от тях, но за съжаление се образоват единствено от социалните мрежи и съседката.
И накрая една доброжелателна забележка към Сиела:
Книгата е издадена доста преди актуалната пандемия, тоест никакво бързане не оправдава грешките или небрежността на целия редакторско-коректорски отбор. Имена са изписани различно в два съседни абзаца (Йозеф - Джоузеф, Бинз - Бинц, шарка - тетанус), а историята на Джим между стр. 211 и 215 е тотално изгубена в превода с несвързаните си изречения.
Разбира се това не намалява стойността на текста и информацията в него, но много бих искала поне такива ценни и необходими книги да бъдат издавани безупречно.
August 12, 2018
This book was completely fascinating. Kinch's presentation of what could have been a dry history of medical research & innovation, was gripping and entertaining. Whether you are in agreement with or opposed to vaccination, this book is filled with interesting, well-researched (and footnoted) history. It is impossible not to come away having gained some knowledge that you will want to impart to others!
January 8, 2019
The meandering tales and extraneous information about the personal lives of disease investi
The meandering tales and extraneous information about the personal lives of scientists left me more confused and failed to engage me most of the time.
The meandering tales and extraneous information about the personal lives of scientists left me more confused and failed to engage me most of the time.
May 11, 2021
Introduction
4/10
I didn't even plan to include the intro chapter in my review. But it lasted 50 minutes on the audiobook! 50 minutes for a very basic intro where the author just stated some obvious facts. Some people are anti-vaxxers. Okay, I agree, but it's kinda obvious and known by all. Big skip! Don't waste your time on this.
1. Pox Romana
6,5/10
The first 70% of the chapter are boring and largely pointless. It's about Macedonia and then the Roman Empire. It has very little to do with vaccination. At the end the chapter gets much more relevant though and we read about some of the first inoculations in the Western world. Both England and USA.
2. Vaccination & Eradication
7,5/10
The audiobook can be hard to fully understand as it contains so many small stories with very bare minimum info yet with a ton of details about places, names and dates. So you really have to struggle to understand it all and remember where you are in the world. I had to relisten to many parts as I tend to zone out while playing chess vs. an AI while listening to books.
I understood many historical stories but the USA stories feel just too unstructured. It's a lot of small events. It's also weird how the book just jumps in time. Suddenly we travel 200 years forward in time to the modern world. That really should not have been the same chapter. It's a ton of great info for sure, but it's stories not direct vaccination information or explanations. I still very much recommend the chapter if you have the energy for it and are willing to listen to a monotone writing style with very little personal engagement from the author.
3. Becoming Defensive
6/10
Super technical chapter about how our body fights viruses. I'm not a huge fan of these overly technical chapters without images. I do need visual sources like video to understand such concepts. So for me it was an easy skip. I know the chapter is crucial as such it's just that for me, as a visual learner, it's not something I seek out. I still give it a strong rating as I think many people will enjoy it more.
4. The Wurst Way to Die
5,5/10
More short stories about researchers.
5. Spreading Like Viruses
4,5/10
Unfortunately the only time he buds in with personal opinions he reveals great ignorance about how society works. Not really his area of expertise, but it's still enough to make me wish he never again says anything personal in this book.
Also, the chapter again is about researchers and as we are close to modern time he picks researchers that are less historically impressive. Overall the chapter feels like a biography rather than a virus chapter. He also has a strong focus on female and Black researchers and often showers them with big praise. It does feel a bit weird in a book that otherwise stays neutral.
6. A Sense of Humors
5,5/10
More technical modern research. It's a proper chapter, I'm just not feeling it. It's not really how I learn this technical stuff. Basically, it's like a teacher using a black board. It's teaching, but it's not teaching I will ever understand. I fail all subjects where I don't have visual aids, while I ace subjects I can explore and play around with. School for me was a duality this way. I could be amazing in one subject and fail other classes. The same happens with books.
The main issue I have now is that I just read the biased statements about modern societal norms clearly illustrating that the author may include wrong things in the book. And since I can't really judge the history parts I just assume it may be wrong at times too. This is why authors really should be careful about ideology, personal opinions and biased social science statements in history books. People who are knowledgeable on social science but ignorant in history, like me, can easily spot bullshit in our field and then we will be less focused on the rest of the book. It's unfortunate, but it's really up to writers to make sure they don't lie or deceive. It's not a mistake. It's something the author chose to do knowing that it was an area he knew nothing about, but just had strong ideological opinions on.
7. Lost In Translation
6/10
More basic historical research for people interested in it. Again, I personally need to see faces, labs and animations of the viruses. A chapter about this is flat to me.
8. Breathing Easier
5/10
Honestly, the book started out neutral. But in these later chapters the author constantly has to make it about women rights, pro Black issues, and even some digs at small government and conservative politicians. It's just weird because most of the book is neutral. But then the author has a need to state what women did or didn't do or could and couldn't do. These statements are also never really based on any historical context or data point. It's just his personal opinions on stuff mixed in with proper history. This is in bad taste and it's also weak sauce because he just states his opinion without explaining much about his opinion.
At the end of the chapter we finally go away from the biased modern history and into anti-vaxx movements. Which is what he promised the whole book would be about in the intro. This is the stuff that actually feels relevant to Covid-19 and other modern viruses. But the chapter is not just this. Hopefully the book will end on a high note...
9. Three Little Letters
6,5/10
Wakefield anti-vaxx movement. It's… fine. Nothing much shocking or new but a fine summary. It feels a bit pointless as a short doc or a long book would be a better intro to this. The chapter does contain some good stories and examples for sure. But it does feel like he's hesitant to criticize some groups. Not a huge deal though.
Now that I think about this chapter and the book I feel like the author having the need to bud in with statements on women and race is a huge disservice to his overall pro vaccine message. Anyone reading this book and spotting his ideological statements would doubt the validity of other claims in the book. Any anti-vaxxer reading this book could easily just dispute the whole thing by pointing out serious logical errors in other parts. Which is a huge shame because you do want to have fair and transparent books you can give anti-vaxxers. Basically, because the author doesn't pick his battles he takes up several battles at one time and anyone finding holes in one argument could easily dismiss the other claims. Then again, maybe he doesn't really care about this being a pro vaccine book and instead just wanted to write a " my ingroup is smart and my outgroup is stupid" book. Those books get written a thousand times a year though and are not good academic scholarship. They do sell well though as people love to hear about how they are right no matter if they are right or wrong.
10. When Future Shocks Become Current Affairs
5/10
Very boring chapter. Frankly the whole book is very dry and often too wordy. So many words used to say so little that the book could easily have been 100 pages shorter.
Again I have to point out how silly it is of the author to bring up ideological topics like Trump and the MeToo movement in this chapter when he's trying to sell you on the pro vaccine idea. He could have included the MeToo point without making it political, but instead it feels political. Of course Trump and his ignorance is an issue. And invasion of personal space is an issue too. But you can talk about issues without trying to make your chapters into propaganda for a certain ideological cause. Or just don't include it unless you want people outside your ideological bubble to enjoy your book.
My conclusion of the review
This is a very dry audiobook. Frankly it feels pointless in too many chapters. I'm trying to be nice and rate some chapters a bit high, but it's hard to always remember what I learned from them. When he started to get into modern history he started to show a lot of bias and became political which is a huge shame as the history chapters were fine and neutral. He just couldn't help himself.
Overall my main issue is that it's a mix of various things and nothing works that well. Some historical parts are very cool, but most of it is dry info without any narration flair to it. The anti-vaxx parts, that he sold so well in the intro, are a big letdown as it's another dry intro to a topic that actually has a ton of intrigue and personal conflicts. I think the book would work best as 2 different books. One could be the history of vaccines. That book would be great. 4 or maybe been 5 stars if it was simple and short. Then another book about a progressive left-wing view on the modern anti-vaxx movement and all the feminist and anti-racism stuff the author also had a need to write about. Then the first book would be for me and the second book would be an easy skip for most people.
As a mix the book tries a lot, but needs to be judged as a complete product. I just won't be recommending it to anyone. It would be a disservice to recommend a political book to an anti-vaxxer unless it's a progressive anti-vaxxer who would not notice all the bias. So it's just very hard to recommend to 95% of people. I did appreciate the historical parts though even though they were dry and I already forgot 85% of it.
It's probably between 2 and 3 stars. I'm not sure. But if you really adore this topic and want a historical overview you probably could pick it up. I'll be looking for a stronger intro to the topic now as I feel like this one is just not possible to recommend to non-progressive readers. On the other hand you may be better at overlooking clearly wrong parts and instead just focus on the info you value. I'm just not sure it's good info as I can't judge the historical stuff.
4/10
I didn't even plan to include the intro chapter in my review. But it lasted 50 minutes on the audiobook! 50 minutes for a very basic intro where the author just stated some obvious facts. Some people are anti-vaxxers. Okay, I agree, but it's kinda obvious and known by all. Big skip! Don't waste your time on this.
1. Pox Romana
6,5/10
The first 70% of the chapter are boring and largely pointless. It's about Macedonia and then the Roman Empire. It has very little to do with vaccination. At the end the chapter gets much more relevant though and we read about some of the first inoculations in the Western world. Both England and USA.
2. Vaccination & Eradication
7,5/10
The audiobook can be hard to fully understand as it contains so many small stories with very bare minimum info yet with a ton of details about places, names and dates. So you really have to struggle to understand it all and remember where you are in the world. I had to relisten to many parts as I tend to zone out while playing chess vs. an AI while listening to books.
I understood many historical stories but the USA stories feel just too unstructured. It's a lot of small events. It's also weird how the book just jumps in time. Suddenly we travel 200 years forward in time to the modern world. That really should not have been the same chapter. It's a ton of great info for sure, but it's stories not direct vaccination information or explanations. I still very much recommend the chapter if you have the energy for it and are willing to listen to a monotone writing style with very little personal engagement from the author.
3. Becoming Defensive
6/10
Super technical chapter about how our body fights viruses. I'm not a huge fan of these overly technical chapters without images. I do need visual sources like video to understand such concepts. So for me it was an easy skip. I know the chapter is crucial as such it's just that for me, as a visual learner, it's not something I seek out. I still give it a strong rating as I think many people will enjoy it more.
4. The Wurst Way to Die
5,5/10
More short stories about researchers.
5. Spreading Like Viruses
4,5/10
Unfortunately the only time he buds in with personal opinions he reveals great ignorance about how society works. Not really his area of expertise, but it's still enough to make me wish he never again says anything personal in this book.
Also, the chapter again is about researchers and as we are close to modern time he picks researchers that are less historically impressive. Overall the chapter feels like a biography rather than a virus chapter. He also has a strong focus on female and Black researchers and often showers them with big praise. It does feel a bit weird in a book that otherwise stays neutral.
6. A Sense of Humors
5,5/10
More technical modern research. It's a proper chapter, I'm just not feeling it. It's not really how I learn this technical stuff. Basically, it's like a teacher using a black board. It's teaching, but it's not teaching I will ever understand. I fail all subjects where I don't have visual aids, while I ace subjects I can explore and play around with. School for me was a duality this way. I could be amazing in one subject and fail other classes. The same happens with books.
The main issue I have now is that I just read the biased statements about modern societal norms clearly illustrating that the author may include wrong things in the book. And since I can't really judge the history parts I just assume it may be wrong at times too. This is why authors really should be careful about ideology, personal opinions and biased social science statements in history books. People who are knowledgeable on social science but ignorant in history, like me, can easily spot bullshit in our field and then we will be less focused on the rest of the book. It's unfortunate, but it's really up to writers to make sure they don't lie or deceive. It's not a mistake. It's something the author chose to do knowing that it was an area he knew nothing about, but just had strong ideological opinions on.
7. Lost In Translation
6/10
More basic historical research for people interested in it. Again, I personally need to see faces, labs and animations of the viruses. A chapter about this is flat to me.
8. Breathing Easier
5/10
Honestly, the book started out neutral. But in these later chapters the author constantly has to make it about women rights, pro Black issues, and even some digs at small government and conservative politicians. It's just weird because most of the book is neutral. But then the author has a need to state what women did or didn't do or could and couldn't do. These statements are also never really based on any historical context or data point. It's just his personal opinions on stuff mixed in with proper history. This is in bad taste and it's also weak sauce because he just states his opinion without explaining much about his opinion.
At the end of the chapter we finally go away from the biased modern history and into anti-vaxx movements. Which is what he promised the whole book would be about in the intro. This is the stuff that actually feels relevant to Covid-19 and other modern viruses. But the chapter is not just this. Hopefully the book will end on a high note...
9. Three Little Letters
6,5/10
Wakefield anti-vaxx movement. It's… fine. Nothing much shocking or new but a fine summary. It feels a bit pointless as a short doc or a long book would be a better intro to this. The chapter does contain some good stories and examples for sure. But it does feel like he's hesitant to criticize some groups. Not a huge deal though.
Now that I think about this chapter and the book I feel like the author having the need to bud in with statements on women and race is a huge disservice to his overall pro vaccine message. Anyone reading this book and spotting his ideological statements would doubt the validity of other claims in the book. Any anti-vaxxer reading this book could easily just dispute the whole thing by pointing out serious logical errors in other parts. Which is a huge shame because you do want to have fair and transparent books you can give anti-vaxxers. Basically, because the author doesn't pick his battles he takes up several battles at one time and anyone finding holes in one argument could easily dismiss the other claims. Then again, maybe he doesn't really care about this being a pro vaccine book and instead just wanted to write a " my ingroup is smart and my outgroup is stupid" book. Those books get written a thousand times a year though and are not good academic scholarship. They do sell well though as people love to hear about how they are right no matter if they are right or wrong.
10. When Future Shocks Become Current Affairs
5/10
Very boring chapter. Frankly the whole book is very dry and often too wordy. So many words used to say so little that the book could easily have been 100 pages shorter.
Again I have to point out how silly it is of the author to bring up ideological topics like Trump and the MeToo movement in this chapter when he's trying to sell you on the pro vaccine idea. He could have included the MeToo point without making it political, but instead it feels political. Of course Trump and his ignorance is an issue. And invasion of personal space is an issue too. But you can talk about issues without trying to make your chapters into propaganda for a certain ideological cause. Or just don't include it unless you want people outside your ideological bubble to enjoy your book.
My conclusion of the review
This is a very dry audiobook. Frankly it feels pointless in too many chapters. I'm trying to be nice and rate some chapters a bit high, but it's hard to always remember what I learned from them. When he started to get into modern history he started to show a lot of bias and became political which is a huge shame as the history chapters were fine and neutral. He just couldn't help himself.
Overall my main issue is that it's a mix of various things and nothing works that well. Some historical parts are very cool, but most of it is dry info without any narration flair to it. The anti-vaxx parts, that he sold so well in the intro, are a big letdown as it's another dry intro to a topic that actually has a ton of intrigue and personal conflicts. I think the book would work best as 2 different books. One could be the history of vaccines. That book would be great. 4 or maybe been 5 stars if it was simple and short. Then another book about a progressive left-wing view on the modern anti-vaxx movement and all the feminist and anti-racism stuff the author also had a need to write about. Then the first book would be for me and the second book would be an easy skip for most people.
As a mix the book tries a lot, but needs to be judged as a complete product. I just won't be recommending it to anyone. It would be a disservice to recommend a political book to an anti-vaxxer unless it's a progressive anti-vaxxer who would not notice all the bias. So it's just very hard to recommend to 95% of people. I did appreciate the historical parts though even though they were dry and I already forgot 85% of it.
It's probably between 2 and 3 stars. I'm not sure. But if you really adore this topic and want a historical overview you probably could pick it up. I'll be looking for a stronger intro to the topic now as I feel like this one is just not possible to recommend to non-progressive readers. On the other hand you may be better at overlooking clearly wrong parts and instead just focus on the info you value. I'm just not sure it's good info as I can't judge the historical stuff.
July 17, 2018
In short, this book is great. As might be expected from the title, Dr. Kinch instills in his readers both a sense of profound hope and utter fear. At times funny, and at others terrifying, “Between Hope and Fear” gives a seemingly all-encompassing synopsis of the history of vaccines and the human immune system.
Reading this book, one can only be in awe of how much time and effort was obviously put into Dr. Kinch’s research - one glance at the endnote citations and your head will hurt just thinking about it.
For anyone who thinks they may be interested in epidemiology, infectious disease, vaccinology, bacteriology, virology, immunity, or who just wants to be able to throw out a few obscure historical anecdotes to impress a crowd, read this book.
Reading this book, one can only be in awe of how much time and effort was obviously put into Dr. Kinch’s research - one glance at the endnote citations and your head will hurt just thinking about it.
For anyone who thinks they may be interested in epidemiology, infectious disease, vaccinology, bacteriology, virology, immunity, or who just wants to be able to throw out a few obscure historical anecdotes to impress a crowd, read this book.
December 11, 2020
Three things: 1) Fire your proofreader. This book is riddled with spelling and grammatical errors. 2) How does one write a history of vaccinations and completely gloss over polio. 3) It reads like a freshman's final project that came up two hundred pages short so the author used wikipedia to fill the remaining requirement with unimportant details that in no way pertain to the subject matter. It is not necessary to fill two pages recounting the battle of little big horn in order to establish that someone is from Custer county nor is it pertinent to the history of vaccines and human immunity.
I was looking forward to reading this book for its poignant subject matter during the pandemic. I wish I had picked a better one off the shelf.
I was looking forward to reading this book for its poignant subject matter during the pandemic. I wish I had picked a better one off the shelf.
Read
October 1, 2019I was very interested in this book because of my career in pediatric nursing and having attended several conferences on vaccine-preventable-diseases. I also have strong feelings about the importance of vaccination. However, I finally gave up on finishing it. There is certainly a lot of great information but there is too much information and I gave up wading through it. I had not expected it to be as erudite in the historical aspects of the book.
May 18, 2020
Perhaps overly concerned with the anecdotal personal lives of those who made vaccine science and immunology what they are, this book is nevertheless an insightful history of the field and one that at least one hard-core public health nerd was perfectly content to read in its entirety. Did you know that vaccines originated as powdered smallpox scabs blown up children's noses in ancient China? This is one of many gems hidden among a long series of names and titles. They're worth sifting for.
Read
June 17, 2020+
Lots of primary source information
Presents the process of science and not just the results
Chapters 9-10 are worth the price of the whole book: Exposé of the anti-vax movement, and scary but realistic discussion of the future of diseases and treatments
-
Can't decide if it wants to be organized chronologically or conceptually
Doesn't discuss the science enough
=
Lots of historical trivia
Lots of primary source information
Presents the process of science and not just the results
Chapters 9-10 are worth the price of the whole book: Exposé of the anti-vax movement, and scary but realistic discussion of the future of diseases and treatments
-
Can't decide if it wants to be organized chronologically or conceptually
Doesn't discuss the science enough
=
Lots of historical trivia
September 12, 2020
'A history of vaccines and human immunity' is such an interesting and important subject. It's a shame that the execution was lacking. This book was painful to read. The author goes on so many historical tangents that it's difficult to follow the threads and extract the main points from each section. I think an excellent editor could have vastly improved this book!
January 1, 2020
I was really looking forward to reading about this topic, but I didn’t find the writing very good or interesting, so I didn’t finish it.
Want to read
June 10, 2019Not a review, my own Summary thus far:
Smallpox , chs 1-2
The problem of disease and the revolutionary Roman road system for the spread of smallpox
Alexanders's death
Various military issues
Antonine Plague (began during reign of Marcus Aurelius Antoninus)
"A combination of improved transportation, urbanization, and emigration propagated the expansion of smallpox."
Origins of smallpox
Spread of smallpox in the "new world"
Variolation as the "original" treatment to smallpox via nasal insufflation. Its development in Europe and America as a cutting method. Lady Mary Wortley Montagu convinces Dr. Maitland to try variolation. Princess of Wales adopts it. Cotton Mather's research into variolated slaves, and the anger this caused in his community. Zabdiel Boylston's work with Mather.
The development of variolation houses--variolation's lengthy recovery process better than dying of smallpox but a problem. Smallpox as warfare methodology. Robert Sutton develops better techniques for variolation, and develops the variolation houses. John Fewster takes up Suttonian technique as well as starting variolation houses. Fewster discovers two brothers who do not respond to variolation, learns they had previously been infected with cowpox, and shares this confusion with medical community (including Edward Jenner). 11 years later, Benjamin Jesty (dairy farmer) learned of a milkmaid who was resistant to smallpox, and then another. He took his family 5 miles to a farm with cows infected with cowpox and scraped the material from the cow's udder with a sewing needle, and then infected his wife and sons below the elbow. The community drove Jesty away for fear that the family would become bovine! Similarly, Peter Plett who learns of immune milk-maids. Plett uses a penknife to perform variolation-like technique using cowpox on the two daughters of Mr. Martini. After this, John Fewster may have begun immunizing using cowpox as well. 1796, Edward Jenner uses scientific method to test the effectiveness of immunizing using cowpox.
Cowpox is called vaccinia virus, and is the origin of the term vaccine. The Jennerian approach to vaccination was quickly adopted. Many militaries adopted vaccination. Mandated vaccination for British Royal Navy and Army. Civilians of UK largely adopted vaccination, such that variolation was eventually barred. Napoleon Bonaparte adopted vaccination for the French army. After his removal, the French refused the vaccination (as a snub likely), and this lead to smallpox outbreak among French in the Franco-Prussian war (and their loss), while Bismarck had ordered his troops to be vaccinated. Thomas Jefferson's advocation of vaccination begins with Benjamin Waterhouse. 13 colonies invasion of Quebec fails due to smallpox outbreak. Washington orders entire Colonial army variolated, leading to about 12% death of army. After learning of Jenner's success, Waterhouse requests samples. Waterhouse vaccinates wife and children, and has monopoly on procedure in US.
Waterhouse requests John Adams to help promote vaccination (met Adams in Dutch Republic), but this would have been not only for public good but for private enrichment. Waterhouse reaches out to Adams' competitor, Thomas Jefferson. Jefferson begins testing vaccination on his slaves (almost 50). Jefferson then vaccinates two dozen family members, and then solicits support from various doctors. Popularity of vaccination in US expanded rapidly, though not among the poor. Large smallpox outbreaks among the unvaccinated. US army that faced the British in war of 1812 vaccinated. Armies in Civil War not vaccinated. Anti-vaccination fringe movements continue through William Tebb. Tebb a theosophist, who unjustly claimed that vaccination caused a large death-toll. John Pitcairn Jr., a Swedenborgian, in US followed suit after a bad vaccination technique caused a blood infection. Another anti-vaccination person was Lora Cornelia Little whose son died--possibly due to poorly develop vaccine, or possibly from a number of other reasons. She also held to Swedenborgian philosophy of "artificial pollution" of the blood. Smallpox eventually mostly eliminated in US. Outbreak post-WW2 in New York in 1947 after man visits Mexico--last outbreak of smallpox in US.
Charles IV of Spain an early adopter of vaccination. Vaccinated colonies in the Americas. WHO's (World Health Organization) endeavor to eradicate smallpox in 1948. This became a Russian v US endeavor during Cold War to promote well-being between themselves and their allies. Last known case of smallpox in Somalia in 1977. One case of smallpox later when a poorly regulated lab seeped it to the tenant above them. Uncontrolled studies of smallpox eliminated, and all known samples destroyed aside from ONE vial in the UK, and ONE in Russia.
Ch. 3
Smallpox , chs 1-2
The problem of disease and the revolutionary Roman road system for the spread of smallpox
Alexanders's death
Various military issues
Antonine Plague (began during reign of Marcus Aurelius Antoninus)
"A combination of improved transportation, urbanization, and emigration propagated the expansion of smallpox."
Origins of smallpox
Spread of smallpox in the "new world"
Variolation as the "original" treatment to smallpox via nasal insufflation. Its development in Europe and America as a cutting method. Lady Mary Wortley Montagu convinces Dr. Maitland to try variolation. Princess of Wales adopts it. Cotton Mather's research into variolated slaves, and the anger this caused in his community. Zabdiel Boylston's work with Mather.
The development of variolation houses--variolation's lengthy recovery process better than dying of smallpox but a problem. Smallpox as warfare methodology. Robert Sutton develops better techniques for variolation, and develops the variolation houses. John Fewster takes up Suttonian technique as well as starting variolation houses. Fewster discovers two brothers who do not respond to variolation, learns they had previously been infected with cowpox, and shares this confusion with medical community (including Edward Jenner). 11 years later, Benjamin Jesty (dairy farmer) learned of a milkmaid who was resistant to smallpox, and then another. He took his family 5 miles to a farm with cows infected with cowpox and scraped the material from the cow's udder with a sewing needle, and then infected his wife and sons below the elbow. The community drove Jesty away for fear that the family would become bovine! Similarly, Peter Plett who learns of immune milk-maids. Plett uses a penknife to perform variolation-like technique using cowpox on the two daughters of Mr. Martini. After this, John Fewster may have begun immunizing using cowpox as well. 1796, Edward Jenner uses scientific method to test the effectiveness of immunizing using cowpox.
Cowpox is called vaccinia virus, and is the origin of the term vaccine. The Jennerian approach to vaccination was quickly adopted. Many militaries adopted vaccination. Mandated vaccination for British Royal Navy and Army. Civilians of UK largely adopted vaccination, such that variolation was eventually barred. Napoleon Bonaparte adopted vaccination for the French army. After his removal, the French refused the vaccination (as a snub likely), and this lead to smallpox outbreak among French in the Franco-Prussian war (and their loss), while Bismarck had ordered his troops to be vaccinated. Thomas Jefferson's advocation of vaccination begins with Benjamin Waterhouse. 13 colonies invasion of Quebec fails due to smallpox outbreak. Washington orders entire Colonial army variolated, leading to about 12% death of army. After learning of Jenner's success, Waterhouse requests samples. Waterhouse vaccinates wife and children, and has monopoly on procedure in US.
Waterhouse requests John Adams to help promote vaccination (met Adams in Dutch Republic), but this would have been not only for public good but for private enrichment. Waterhouse reaches out to Adams' competitor, Thomas Jefferson. Jefferson begins testing vaccination on his slaves (almost 50). Jefferson then vaccinates two dozen family members, and then solicits support from various doctors. Popularity of vaccination in US expanded rapidly, though not among the poor. Large smallpox outbreaks among the unvaccinated. US army that faced the British in war of 1812 vaccinated. Armies in Civil War not vaccinated. Anti-vaccination fringe movements continue through William Tebb. Tebb a theosophist, who unjustly claimed that vaccination caused a large death-toll. John Pitcairn Jr., a Swedenborgian, in US followed suit after a bad vaccination technique caused a blood infection. Another anti-vaccination person was Lora Cornelia Little whose son died--possibly due to poorly develop vaccine, or possibly from a number of other reasons. She also held to Swedenborgian philosophy of "artificial pollution" of the blood. Smallpox eventually mostly eliminated in US. Outbreak post-WW2 in New York in 1947 after man visits Mexico--last outbreak of smallpox in US.
Charles IV of Spain an early adopter of vaccination. Vaccinated colonies in the Americas. WHO's (World Health Organization) endeavor to eradicate smallpox in 1948. This became a Russian v US endeavor during Cold War to promote well-being between themselves and their allies. Last known case of smallpox in Somalia in 1977. One case of smallpox later when a poorly regulated lab seeped it to the tenant above them. Uncontrolled studies of smallpox eliminated, and all known samples destroyed aside from ONE vial in the UK, and ONE in Russia.
Ch. 3
April 12, 2021
Overall, this was a really fascinating read. I learned so much and I loved the author's writing style. It also came out relatively recently (originally 2016, with revisions in 2019), so some of the social commentary was super relevant and at timers almost predictive of the reality (and lack of preparedness) of the COVID pandemic. I wonder how, if at all, the events of the past year change some of the trends away from vaccines that the author noted.
It also was interesting to learn more about the historical resistance to vaccines, in particular the history of the modern antivaxxers, which goes back much further (60s-70s) than I realized. It was also fascinating/horrifying to learn that this movement has led to less effective vaccines (such as the Pertussis), and that because of this landscape I am left more vulnerable to certain diseases regardless of my own vaccination status. The author is a bit generous in supposing that most antivaxxers are just ignorant, something I question after this past year. But he does advocate for education vs. ostracizing, which does make sense.
There were several chapters dedicated to debunking the supposed link to autism, which was super informative. It was amazing to learn that so much of the hype on this topic was generated by things like a TV station needing something to get high ratings during sweeps week. Overall I thought these sections were very good. I was a little confused by the assertion towards the end that vaccines might actually help autistic people. I think he was saying that they might help alleviate certain conditions more common in autistics (like chronic GI issues), but it was a little confusing. I don't think he was talking about a vaccine to "cure" autism (which would be eugenics). But it was worded weirdly and moved past quickly. One of the times I wish I was reading the actual book so I could go back.
My biggest critique is that despite some attempts to be aware of it, the book was very Western centric and sometimes had interesting perspectives about the impact of colonialism/racism in the context of the topic. In particular, the passage about Cotton Mather contrasted sharply to how the same events were addressed in Stamped from the Beginning; this book really wanted to give Mather the benefit of the doubt that the test subjects were volunteers, while what I remember from Stamped is that they likely were not. There were other less obvious instances of this framing that I couldn't help but notice. I mention these not to stop people from reading the book, because I 100% think it's worth reading and has a lot of really thorough information. But it is important to note bias, and while I think the author tried to be as objective as possible, the inherent bias we all have came through.
It also was interesting to learn more about the historical resistance to vaccines, in particular the history of the modern antivaxxers, which goes back much further (60s-70s) than I realized. It was also fascinating/horrifying to learn that this movement has led to less effective vaccines (such as the Pertussis), and that because of this landscape I am left more vulnerable to certain diseases regardless of my own vaccination status. The author is a bit generous in supposing that most antivaxxers are just ignorant, something I question after this past year. But he does advocate for education vs. ostracizing, which does make sense.
There were several chapters dedicated to debunking the supposed link to autism, which was super informative. It was amazing to learn that so much of the hype on this topic was generated by things like a TV station needing something to get high ratings during sweeps week. Overall I thought these sections were very good. I was a little confused by the assertion towards the end that vaccines might actually help autistic people. I think he was saying that they might help alleviate certain conditions more common in autistics (like chronic GI issues), but it was a little confusing. I don't think he was talking about a vaccine to "cure" autism (which would be eugenics). But it was worded weirdly and moved past quickly. One of the times I wish I was reading the actual book so I could go back.
My biggest critique is that despite some attempts to be aware of it, the book was very Western centric and sometimes had interesting perspectives about the impact of colonialism/racism in the context of the topic. In particular, the passage about Cotton Mather contrasted sharply to how the same events were addressed in Stamped from the Beginning; this book really wanted to give Mather the benefit of the doubt that the test subjects were volunteers, while what I remember from Stamped is that they likely were not. There were other less obvious instances of this framing that I couldn't help but notice. I mention these not to stop people from reading the book, because I 100% think it's worth reading and has a lot of really thorough information. But it is important to note bias, and while I think the author tried to be as objective as possible, the inherent bias we all have came through.
September 24, 2021
Макар и да подходих с известен скептицизъм, книгата на Майкъл Кинч всъщност е доста добра. До голяма степен историческа хроника, отчасти фармакологична история, история на имунитета и епидемиите обхващали цивилизацията ни в близките две хиляди години, всъщност Кинч разказва доста увлекателно.
“Ваксина” идва от латинската дума за крава — vacca, тъй като първите медицински прилагани ваксини представляват умишлено заразяване (напълно естествено) с кравешка шакра, след като фермери и естествоизпитатели наблюдавали, че жените, които редовно доят кравите не боледуват от едра шарка и нямат обезобразена от шарката кожа, защото покрай кравите от самото начало преболедуват много по-лек вариант, който им носи имунитет и срещу едрата шарка. Така ваксинацията заместила вариолизацията, практика базирана на арабските традиции децата да биват заразявани от струпеите на преболедували едра шарка — процедура, която макар и по-безопасна от пълно боледуване, все пак е реално макар и по-леко преболедуване на едра шарка.
Днес, двеста години по-късно, разбира се имаме космически технологии и за щастие не се налага да си посипваме изсушени струпеи от преболедували крави или от хора в прорезни рани, за да изградим безопасен имунитет.
Първите антиваксъри между другото са се заигравали със страха, че ваксинацията може да те превърне в говедо и да ти поникнат рога — дотолкова, че английският фермер Бенджамин Джести, който документирано първи ваксинирал семейството си бодейки всеки от тях с игла за плетене предварително натъркана във вимето на болна крава, бил изгонен с камъни от съселяните си, за да не ги зарази и превърне и тях в говеда. Част от съселяните му в последствие поизмрели от едрата шарка, която дошла и в тяхното село, докато семейство на Джести останало невредимо, та последният смях можем да предположим за кого е бил.
“Ваксина” идва от латинската дума за крава — vacca, тъй като първите медицински прилагани ваксини представляват умишлено заразяване (напълно естествено) с кравешка шакра, след като фермери и естествоизпитатели наблюдавали, че жените, които редовно доят кравите не боледуват от едра шарка и нямат обезобразена от шарката кожа, защото покрай кравите от самото начало преболедуват много по-лек вариант, който им носи имунитет и срещу едрата шарка. Така ваксинацията заместила вариолизацията, практика базирана на арабските традиции децата да биват заразявани от струпеите на преболедували едра шарка — процедура, която макар и по-безопасна от пълно боледуване, все пак е реално макар и по-леко преболедуване на едра шарка.
Днес, двеста години по-късно, разбира се имаме космически технологии и за щастие не се налага да си посипваме изсушени струпеи от преболедували крави или от хора в прорезни рани, за да изградим безопасен имунитет.
Първите антиваксъри между другото са се заигравали със страха, че ваксинацията може да те превърне в говедо и да ти поникнат рога — дотолкова, че английският фермер Бенджамин Джести, който документирано първи ваксинирал семейството си бодейки всеки от тях с игла за плетене предварително натъркана във вимето на болна крава, бил изгонен с камъни от съселяните си, за да не ги зарази и превърне и тях в говеда. Част от съселяните му в последствие поизмрели от едрата шарка, която дошла и в тяхното село, докато семейство на Джести останало невредимо, та последният смях можем да предположим за кого е бил.
April 19, 2024
Michael Kinch has written a powerful book that puts vaccines into perspective. The subtitle promotes it as a history of vaccines and Kinch delivers. Starting with smallpox, Kinch walks us through the history of vaccines and the development of scientific technology to support it. He details countless stories and discoveries. His final chapters deal with very modern issues and vaccines, most importantly helping the reader understand the current lack of novel vaccines and the reasoning behind it. He advocates strongly for more vaccine development and points to numerous examples. He also details the history of vaccine hesitancy and outright opposition.
To call it a history is important, Kinch details history way beyond what I was expecting. He identifies many individuals who have not received enough credit for their contributions and he also provide historical backdrop to everything, everything. Never did I think I would learn so much about the Roman empire or the history of Europe in a book like this. However, he uses this extensive historical backdrop to help emphasize key points. For example, one cannot truly appreciate the rivalry between Pasteur and Koch unless one understand more of European history and the strong sense of nationalism felt by these people during this time period.
Kinch lays of extremely technical descriptions of the science, but does provide details that readers will appreciate it. One does not need to be a scientist to appreciate this as it is very accessible. Anyone interested in vaccines, their history, and the anti-vaccination movement will enjoy this book. It also details a lot of science history putting many individuals in their proper historical context.
To call it a history is important, Kinch details history way beyond what I was expecting. He identifies many individuals who have not received enough credit for their contributions and he also provide historical backdrop to everything, everything. Never did I think I would learn so much about the Roman empire or the history of Europe in a book like this. However, he uses this extensive historical backdrop to help emphasize key points. For example, one cannot truly appreciate the rivalry between Pasteur and Koch unless one understand more of European history and the strong sense of nationalism felt by these people during this time period.
Kinch lays of extremely technical descriptions of the science, but does provide details that readers will appreciate it. One does not need to be a scientist to appreciate this as it is very accessible. Anyone interested in vaccines, their history, and the anti-vaccination movement will enjoy this book. It also details a lot of science history putting many individuals in their proper historical context.
December 13, 2019
This book is a history of the human relationship between diseases and vaccination. While some people such as myself might think of the backlash against vaccination as something recent, this book reveals that nutcases have always existed.
Between Hope and Fear is a book written by Michael Kinch. It discusses the history of various diseases that have afflicted humankind and our efforts to eradicate these maladies.
First off, vaccination is something that only works for viruses. The basic idea is to prime the immune system against a serious threat with an innocuous substance. The name of vaccination comes from the Latin name of Cowpox. It was realized by someone back in the mists of time that when you were exposed to Cowpox, you had less of a chance of getting sick from Smallpox. People attribute this procedure to Edward Jenner, but it seems that other physicians had discovered it independently.
Smallpox is the only disease that is confirmed to have been eliminated. This is due to the unique physiology of the Smallpox Virus. It cannot infect other beings and creatures, instead, it focuses totally on human beings. This made it relatively easy to eliminate, but it still took years and years of concentrated effort.
The book also discusses the junk science used by Vaccine Truthers and others to debase the idea of vaccination. It is full of familiar faces and names. The book is really good, but I don’t think it will convince people one way or the other if they are slotted into their beliefs.
Between Hope and Fear is a book written by Michael Kinch. It discusses the history of various diseases that have afflicted humankind and our efforts to eradicate these maladies.
First off, vaccination is something that only works for viruses. The basic idea is to prime the immune system against a serious threat with an innocuous substance. The name of vaccination comes from the Latin name of Cowpox. It was realized by someone back in the mists of time that when you were exposed to Cowpox, you had less of a chance of getting sick from Smallpox. People attribute this procedure to Edward Jenner, but it seems that other physicians had discovered it independently.
Smallpox is the only disease that is confirmed to have been eliminated. This is due to the unique physiology of the Smallpox Virus. It cannot infect other beings and creatures, instead, it focuses totally on human beings. This made it relatively easy to eliminate, but it still took years and years of concentrated effort.
The book also discusses the junk science used by Vaccine Truthers and others to debase the idea of vaccination. It is full of familiar faces and names. The book is really good, but I don’t think it will convince people one way or the other if they are slotted into their beliefs.
August 19, 2021
This was a very informative read. It was pretty much everything I was hoping it would be and my brain is tired out from all that I learned! Fascinating that he wrote this just before the pandemic. It made all the information even more relevant.
Yes, I could have done with a little less of the deep history, but even that was written in an interesting manner. Vaccines have been around for much longer than I was aware and sadly there have always been a certain part of society who are anti-vaccine, due to myths and in a few cases where manufacturing was not done with due diligence.
It would be wonderful if those who are opposed to vaccinations or those who are just selfish and want to leave it up to others so they can get herd immunity, would read this book, but I doubt people with such attitudes are even interested in expanding their knowledge about the history and impact of vaccines. He does explore herd immunity and how very difficult it is to attain. If you get bogged down, skip to the end and at least read the last 2-3 chapters. Very well written and such important information.
Yes, I could have done with a little less of the deep history, but even that was written in an interesting manner. Vaccines have been around for much longer than I was aware and sadly there have always been a certain part of society who are anti-vaccine, due to myths and in a few cases where manufacturing was not done with due diligence.
It would be wonderful if those who are opposed to vaccinations or those who are just selfish and want to leave it up to others so they can get herd immunity, would read this book, but I doubt people with such attitudes are even interested in expanding their knowledge about the history and impact of vaccines. He does explore herd immunity and how very difficult it is to attain. If you get bogged down, skip to the end and at least read the last 2-3 chapters. Very well written and such important information.
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