Customer Reviews

Little Book of Pandemics

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This book on '50 of the world's most virulent plagues and infectious diseases' is interesting in concept, but flawed in execution, and poorly edited. A few of the author's sentences are cut off abruptly in mid-thought to make room for an illustration that doesn't add much content. Some of the text such as "Rabies is a bullet-shaped virus that is carried by large carnivorous mammals, such as dogs, cats, and cattle, as well as bats..." should have been proof-read and corrected. All of the maps in this book show the southern-most provinces of Canada as having been annexed by the United States. The map illustrating the distribution of Leishmaniasis shows this disease in Australia and South-east Asia, even though the author specifically states that: "If you want to live in the tropics and still be certain of avoiding [leishmaniasis], you could move to Australia, the South Pacific, or South-east Asia, as it hasn't been found there---yet."

Poor editing and construction aside, "The Little Book of Pandemics" is quite interesting, and at times even jaunty. The reader is treated to a short history of a particular plague such as giardia, its symptoms and effects, plus how a person becomes infected. Treatment (if there is one) is given a paragraph, and the author usually ends by speculating on whether a particular disease could be effective as a weapon of biological terrorism.

The book is divided into sections by method of transmission, and high-profile diseases such as Tuberculosis and SARS are covered, as well as less-familiar ones like English Sweating Sickness and Nipah Virus. I enjoyed reading "The Little Book of Pandemics" but was left with the feeling that I couldn't really trust all of its data, because of the errors that even I could find.

I agree that this book is marred by sloppy editing and maps. Further, it missed a few of my favorites. Don't know if they missed the definition of pandemic or if the author is showing a geographic bias. I would have liked to see Chagas disease, Hantavirus pulmonary syndrome, and Valley fever (Coccidioidomycosis) included. All can be deadly. Millions in Latin America have Chagas disease and it may well become established in the United States. HPS was first recognized in 1993 and has been found throughout the United States. Valley fever occurs in the Southwest U.S. and arid regions in Latin America; it's generally mild but can turn deadly. All three turn up in Arizona!