An Illustrated History of Malaria [Hardcover]

C.M. Poser (Author), G.W. Bruyn (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: September 15, 1999 | ISBN-10: 1850700680 | ISBN-13: 978-1850700685 | Edition: 1

This is a wonderfully readable, nearly novel-like but masterfully scholarly all-encompassing history of malaria, a disease that still kills 2 to 3 million people every year, with unprecedented documentation of its impact on human events. The book contains more than 250 rare illustrations from obscure sources as well as a bibliography and names and dates section plus index. No other work ever attempted matches this volume's stunning scope and depth of coverage of malaria as one the great scourges of mankind responsible for defeating conquering armies, altering the fate of besieged cities, devastating the Papal conclaves, barring progress and civilization in Victorian times, and blamed by some historians for the decline of Greek civilization, the fall of the Roman Empire, and hindering the colonization of Africa. A unique and special work for the legion of medical and general readers fascinated by the evolution of science and medicine over the centuries.

Editorial Reviews

From The New England Journal of Medicine

This elegantly written book is a useful introduction to the medical history of malaria in the past half-millennium. The authors, who are neurologists, have read and digested a broad range of European and American works, sometimes quoting them at length so that readers directly encounter the wide variety of opinions regarding the efficacy of various cures for malaria. Accompanying nearly every chapter is a gallery of portraits of leading figures in the history of malaria, as well as reproductions of the title pages of works deemed particularly important by the authors and other relevant illustrations. A strong bibliography and a list of nearly 350 persons mentioned in the text, with birth and death dates, add to the usefulness of the book.

Unfortunately, despite the title, one should not purchase this book expecting a visually pleasurable experience. The illustrations are often muddy, and several appear to have been poorly cropped. Whether the fault lies in the printing or in the reproduction of many of the illustrations from other medical histories is not readily apparent. The source cited for many of the illustrations from the 17th and 18th centuries is simply a repository, such as the Countway Library, rather than the original source.

The authors apparently recognize that their book has some textual shortcomings, because a foreword by David A. Warrell frankly identifies what he believes are particular errors of evidence and interpretation, as well as the limited relation of this work to much of the current scholarship in the field. Readers should take seriously Warrell's reservations, as well as his pointers on issues in modern malariology.

Fundamentally, the book seems out of step with modern thinking on malaria. It focuses largely on the history of medical treatment, particularly the discovery of quinine, the identification of successful treatment regimens, and the development of successors to quinine in the 20th century. But the appearance of treatment-resistant strains of malaria in recent decades has changed the game considerably, so that a wide variety of other, largely nonmedical, strategies have become important in attempts to reduce the 2 million deaths due to malaria and the millions of infections that occur each year. The book barely mentions the vast mosquito-control campaigns of the past century and does not touch at all on the global malaria-eradication campaign (heavily based on the use of dichlorodiphenyltrichloroethane [DDT]) initiated in 1955 by the World Health Organization. Warrell notes that in recent years, insecticide-impregnated bed nets have been a valuable antimalaria tool.

History itself is a not insignificant tool in the fight against malaria because, without a vaccine and without the expectation that any particular treatment regimen will be effective for long, we must understand cultural and social features and trends as important elements in our antimalaria armamentarium. An Illustrated History of Malaria will open the door for persons new to the field, but reading beyond the specifically medical history of the disease represented by this book is necessary for anyone who wants to be well informed about the background of the situation we are in today with respect to malaria.

Darwin H. Stapleton, Ph.D.
Copyright © 2000 Massachusetts Medical Society. All rights reserved. The New England Journal of Medicine is a registered trademark of the MMS.

Product Details

• Hardcover: 172 pages
• Publisher: Informa Healthcare; 1 edition (September 15, 1999)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 1850700680
• ISBN-13: 978-1850700685
• Product Dimensions: 12.2 x 8.2 x 0.6 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1.8 pounds (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 3.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (1 customer review)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #1,589,212 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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3.0 out of 5 stars "An Illustrated History of Malaria" does not deliver on that title..., October 11, 2009

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Dr. Stephen M. Rich "zappafrank22" (Worcester, MA United States) - See all my reviews
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This review is from: An Illustrated History of Malaria (Hardcover)

... but it is nonetheless a good overview of the history of malaria, including a nice chronology of the origins of anti-malarial drugs. What is lacking is the comprehensive set of illustrations. Most of what is written in the text of this book can be found elsewhere, so I was hoping for a large series of pictures for use in lectures on malaria. I am disappointed by this book.