Customer Reviews

Disease: The Extraordinary Stories Behind History's Deadliest Killers

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I am a Microbiology major at my University, and in my senior year learned about all 30 of the diseases covered in this book. When I picked it up, I expected many of the scientific details to be glossed over, but was amazed at how much detail was in each chapter, detail that I was tested over in my classes! This book was extremely straight forward, interesting and easy to read. I bought it as a gift for my father upon my graduation because he always seemed so fascinated by my coursework in Microbiology. I haven't yet given it to him, but I know he is going to love it! This book is so well done and so informative for anyone curious about the many amazing and horrific diseases that have affected humans and animals.

If your children are ready to graduate from Horrible Histories and DK Eyewitness books, or if you are an adult wanting an enjoyable lay persons explanation of disease, this might be the place to start. My 12 year old daughter came home from school very inspired by her science class in which they were studying disease and I bought her this book. She has barely put it down and can't wait to take it to school when winter break is over to show her teacher.
There are four subsections: Bacterial Diseases (plague, leprosy, syphilis, typhus, cholera, typhoid, tuberculosis, puerperal fever, enephalitis), Parasitic Diseases(malaria, african trypnosomiasis, chagas' disease, lymphatic filariasis, schistosomiasis, hookworm, onchocerciasis), Viral Diseases (smallpox, measles, yellow fever, dengue fever, rabies, polio, influenza, ebola, AIDs, SARS), and Lifestyle Diseases(scurvy, kuru&CJD, cancer, heart disease).
Each disease is represented by approximately 2-4 two page spreads with timelines, excerpts from journal and other literature, illustrations, maps and explatations. The Plague for example begins by discussing how it is transmitted, discussion of the fictional novel "LaPeste" by Albert Camus, and smaller subsections such as: 'Dead rats and modern Imagination', 'The First Great Plague', 'The Origins of the Black Death', 'The Sorrow and the Pity', 'Rotting Corpses and Silent Bells'.
The book describes treatments, how people thought the disease was spread and the causes vs. what the modern realities are. A small but significant warning for some families: this is for kids who are ready for more mature content. For instance, the section on cancer shows an 'older type' drawing in which a woman's cancerous breast is being cut off with a big shears. Very barbaric, not at all sexual or nudity explicit, but some of the content would be shocking for kids and some adults not ready for this. It doesn't use as many euphamisms and no cartoony styles as do books for elementary age kids on the same topic.
I highly reccomend this book and would definitely use it if we were still homeschooling. It is a welcome addition to our library.

I just recently bought this book. I've read many books on diseases and infections, and this was definitely not just another repeat. It has an informative and easy-to-read background on the discovery and documented history of the aforementioned. It is the first book like this that I have acquired that has beautiful glossy pages, artwork/photos, and easy-to-read print. I'd venture to say it's readable by 11 y/o plus. I paid an amazing $13; definitely going on my coffee table when I'm through reading it. ;)

This is a book that discuses 30 diseases in a general manner. It is written for a general audience and is suitable for students (high school and above) and those interested in a general treatment of the subject. The diseases are divided into four general categories: bacterial diseases, parasitic diseases, viral diseases and lifestyle diseases (which include vitamin deficiency diseases, prion diseases, cancer and heart disease). Each chapter is devoted to a primary disease, although some also cover similar diseases - for instance, the chapter on Ebola also mentions other haemorrhagic fevers such as Marburg disease and Lassa fever. Each chapter starts with a timeline delineating when the disease was first identified or mentioned, historical impacts, prominent researchers and treatments. The text is augmented with numerous pictures and short inserts describing specific subjects, such as prominent suffers, treatments and stories of interest (such as that of Typhoid Mary).

This is not a medical text or a book describing what to do for specific conditions or current treatments. It is a book on the history of disease and its impact on people, society and historical events. This is a book written for a general audience, but it should also be of some interest to those with more of an interest in science and medicine. There are lots of interesting tidbits; for instance, did Darwin contract Chagas disease in his epic journey to South America? The fact that there are different kinds of Malaria is discussed, as is the difference between Small Pox inoculation and vaccination (terms which are often confused in history books.) The expected diseases such as Plague, Leprosy, Yellow Fever, Malaria, Rabies and Polio are discussed, but so are less well know diseases such as Chagas disease, Lymphatic Filariasis, Dengue Fever, and Kuru. This is a very interesting book, well written, well illustrated and of general interest. I recommend it to people interested in history, biology and medicine.

I've read this book again and again! Absolutely love it. It is highly informative while still being an interesting read. This book is excellent for both those interested in disease and those looking for a different spin on human history. When you pick this up you can expect clear descriptions of what each disease is, where it came from, how it is treated/prevented, and what impact it has had on humans. Historical timelines summarise the progression of the disease through time, and accompanying visuals are anything from photographs, to colour electron scans, to old newspaper cartoons. Highly recommend it, and it would make a fantastic gift.

So informative and well researched, yet written in an easily digestible and fascinating way. If you love reading about the history behind some of the most deadly diseases in human history, then you'll love this book like I did. :-)

I'm an epidemiologist whose always been interested in the history of medicine. This book is very informative and pictures incredible (would even use as a coffee table book). Picked it up in the clearance section of a book store- one of the best books on infectious disease I've ever found. Highly recommend!

I am an infectious disease physician. It is very important for me to learn infectious diseases' effects on history of humanity. This book is very helpful for this subject...

I loved this book. It was so fascinating to be able to grasp the immensity of the impact that some of these diseases had on society.