Encyclopedia of Pestilence, Pandemics, and Plagues [2 volumes] [Hardcover]

Joseph P. Byrne Ph.D. (Editor)

Book Description

ISBN-10: 031334101X | ISBN-13: 978-0313341014 | Publication Date: September 30, 2008 | Edition: 1

From the Athenian flu pandemic to the Black Death to AIDS, this extensive two-volume set offers a sociocultural, historical, and medical look at infectious diseases and their place in human history from Neolithic times to the present. Nearly 300 entries cover individual diseases (such as HIV/AIDS, malaria, Ebola, and SARS); major epidemics (such as the Black Death, 16th-century syphilis, cholera in the nineteenth century, and the Spanish Flu of 1918-19); environmental factors (such as ecology, travel, poverty, wealth, slavery, and war); and historical and cultural effects of disease (such as the relationship of Romanticism to Tuberculosis, the closing of London theaters during plague epidemics, and the effect of venereal disease on social reform). Editor Joseph P. Byrne, together with an advisory board of specialists and over 100 scholars, research scientists, and medical practitioners from 13 countries, has produced a uniquely interdisciplinary treatment of the ways in which diseases pestilence, and plagues have affected human life. Primary source sidebars, over 70 illustrations, a glossary, and an extensive print and nonprint bibliography round out the work.

Editorial Reviews

From Booklist

*Starred Review* Threats to human life invariably arouse public interest. Written for the nonspecialist, Encyclopedia of Pestilence, Pandemics, and Plagues covers the medical, cultural, sociological, and historical aspects of infectious diseases from prehistoric times to the present. About 300 articles, authored and signed by subject specialists, present an authoritative, often-engaging overview of diseases of consequence to humankind worldwide. Covering the broad aspects of human pandemics, articles range in length from one to several pages. Examples of articles include Biblical plagues, Bioterrorism, Black Death (1347–1352), Chinese disease theory and medicine, Legionnaires’ disease, Measles in the colonial Americas, Neolithic revolution and epidemic disease, Slavery and disease, and Whooping cough. There are also entries for individuals such as Edward Jenner and Louis Pasteur. This work provides some fascinating background material on human diseases: for example, we learn that the pre-Columbian Incas believed that disease was linked to proper behavior, ritual purity, and the relationship between humans and the divine; debate continues on the organism responsible for the Black Death, which decimated human populations in Europe and the Mediterranean world in the fourteenth century; at least 40 million people died worldwide during the influenza pandemic of 1918–1919; isolated instances of bubonic plague still occur in the U.S. About 70 black-and-white illustrations and photographs supplement the text. References to further reading are included at the end of most articles, and some articles are augmented by primary source documents, highlighted in sidebars. Appendixes include an 11-page glossary and a 13-page bibliography. A 30-page index provides subject access to the contents. A complementary work, Facts On File’s Encyclopedia of Plague and Pestilence: From Ancient Times to the Present (3d ed., 2007), has entries for more than 700 epidemics or outbreaks but not for related topics such as infectious diseases, treatments, individuals, and historical contexts. Encyclopedia of Pestilence, Pandemics, and Plagues, notable for authoritative content on a topic of broad appeal, is highly recommended for public, special, and academic libraries. Also available as an e-book. --Nancy Cannon

Review

"BOTTOM LINE: A useful resource, especially for those trying to learn about the cultural issues like news reporting on epidemic disease or societal reactions to leprosy, this well-written work would be a good starting point for research. …Recommended for academic libraries as well as high school libraries with decent budgets."

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Library Journal

"This comprehensive reference goes far beyond mere events and dates but also details the public health costs of such social constructs as capitalism, colonialism, and medical ethics. Byrne (medieval and early modern history, Belmont U.) and his contributors cover everything from AIDS to yellow fever, and include the pioneers of research in infectious

diseases, biological warfare, the effects of demographics, medical theories from the West and Asia, health agencies and conventions, diseases based on diet or lack thereof, treatment facilities past and present, the roles of sexuality and gender, pharmacology, and the effects of inoculation on various pandemics."

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SciTech Book News

"Threats to human life invariably arouse public interest. Written for the nonspecialist, Encyclopedia of

Pestilence, Pandemics, and Plagues covers the medical, cultural, sociological, and historical aspects of

infectious diseases from prehistoric times to the present. About 300 articles, authored and signed by

subject specialists, present an authoritative, often-engaging overview of diseases of consequence to

humankind worldwide. …This work provides some fascinating background material on human

diseases: …Encyclopedia of Pestilence, Pandemics, and Plagues, notable for authoritative content on a topic of broad appeal, is highly recommended for public, special, and academic libraries.' "

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Booklist, Starred Review

"The work covers individual diseases such as HIV/AIDS, cholera, yellow fever, and SARS; epidemics like the bubonic plague in medieval Europe, 16th-century syphilis, and the 29th-century influenza pandemic; and environmental factors, including travel, poverty, slavery, and war. It also discusses the sociocultural and historical effects of disease, such as the relationship between the Black Death and late medieval Christianity; representations of disease in modern literature; and the relationship between sexually transmitted diseases and social reform. This work will be particularly useful research aid for advance high school or college students. Recommended. Lower- and upper-level undergraduates and general readers."

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Choice

"[William Osler's Principles and Practice of Medicine]was one of the last successful single-author surveys of medicine, and it helped inspire the Rockefeller Foundation. . . to invest money in helping extend the diagnostic advances which Osler lauded into the therapeutic ones he noted to be lacking. Byrne's encyclopedia follows on from this tradition, albeit with an infectious focus. It is packed with enough good writing to make it happily respectable."

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Times Literary Supplement

"The Encyclopedia of Pestilence, Pandemics, and Plagues is a suitable acquisition for colleges and larger public audiences."

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Catholic Library World

See all Editorial Reviews

Product Details

• Hardcover: 920 pages
• Publisher: Greenwood; 1 edition (September 30, 2008)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 031334101X
• ISBN-13: 978-0313341014
• Product Dimensions: 10.3 x 7.2 x 2.5 inches
• Shipping Weight: 4.7 pounds (View shipping rates and policies)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #2,359,774 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)