Customer Reviews

Viruses, Plagues, and History: Past, Present and Future

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First of all, to clear up a possible confusion from the title and publisher's reviews, this book doesn't focus on how viruses have affected world history. There is some information about this, but it is relatively few pages scattered throughout the book. What "Viruses, Plagues, and History" does, and quite well, is present a fine popular account of doctors' and scientists' efforts to identify and control these diseases, that is written by an expert to be understood by the "medically aware" general reader. This won't be everyone, so I'd sample a page or two before rushing out to buy it.

The original edition of ten years ago has been brought up to date (as of 2010) with new chapters on SARS and West Nile; information in other chapters (e.g., HIV/AIDS) has also been updated for this new edition. Be sure you get this one, rather than the 2008 paperback (which is just a reprint of the older edition). It is obviously a fast-changing field, so this is one case where it really matters which edition you purchase. The publisher and author deserve a lot of credit for recognizing the need and following through with this inexpensive and well-updated edition.

fun easy to understand appropriate for people who are interested medical topics as general culture. but doctors do not recommend it for much less for medical epidemiologist