Life and Death of Smallpox

by Ian Glynn

From ancient Egypt, India and China, smallpox spread around the world. It defeated armies, relieved sieges, killed emperors, played havoc with dynasties, helped to establish Buddhism in Japan, and at about the time of Muhammad's birth it stopped Christian Abyssinians from capturing a still pagan Mecca. When individual epidemics were killing tens of thousands in the early 18th century, the adoption of the 'folk-medicine' practice of inoculating with smallpox itself gave some protection to those inoculated - but at the cost of spreading the infection. In the 1790s Edward Jenner's brilliant experiments in 'vaccinating' with cowpox brought hope, not only of saving lives but also of eventually eradicating the disease. The practice spread round the world astonishingly fast. It took over two hundred years to achieve world-wide eradication; and it remains a magnificent and so far a unique scientific and political achievement. But now smallpox is one of the first choices for international bio-terrorism. This book tells the fascinating and frightening story of this terrifying disease, from the pustules on the mummy of Ramses V to current anxieties - a brilliant mixture of history, science and politics.

Genres: History, Science

Paperback

First published August 30, 2004

Reviews

[Bill38silver · Rating 3 out of 5]

This is an interesting topic but its scope is far too broad and this results in very uneven treatment of the narrative. It feels like the author has gathered as much material on smallpox as can be amassed from ancient times onwards and then wades through the evidence in chronological order and continent by continent.

The final third of the book includes two sections that I struggled with: one chapter on the viruses by the end of which I had lost track of the difference between vaccination and variolation, and variola minor and variola major. And after an uplifting chapter on the fantastic effort to annihilate the killer disease on a global scale seemingly once and for all time, the final chapter unleashes a warning shot of apocalyptic events if smallpox was to be used as a bio-terrorist weapon. Worthy sentiment but out of place in my view in a book on the history and death of a particular disease.

Much of the book , though, is a worthwhile read, especially to record the triumph of Edward Jenner. His achievement leading to the saving of millions of lives on a global scale should be celebrated world wide and he should be high up in any list of famous people.

[Eleanor · Rating 4 out of 5]

As someone who has always been fascinated by epidemics and vaccines this was a must read for me, and it did not disappoint. I thought I knew a lot about smallpox and its eradication before, but I learned an enormous amount reading this book. In particular I enjoyed reading about the attempts to "vaccinate" against it before Jenner's breakthrough, and the ingenuity of people in the absence of sophisticated medical knowledge.

[Shea Mastison · Rating 3 out of 5]

The pacing of the writing is a little out of whack. They start off very intricately in the earlier (and more dramatic) past of small pox; fast forward a century in a single paragraph, and then break into explaining how the Russians and Americans are the only two governments that even have live small pox material in the world--likely for weapons uses.
Ahhhh, life's great with such paternalistic governments. Good thing they stopped giving vaccinations long ago: it will make their weapons all the more potent!

[Dan · Rating 5 out of 5]

Excellent book about the history of smallpox, as well as the science of the disease and how it was eventually eradicated. One of the best books I read in 2009 by far. Well-written, easy to understand, and graphic enough to make you grateful that smallpox no longer troubles us.

[Morgan Keating · Rating 1 out of 5]

Boring :(