Join Amazon Prime and ship Two-Day for free and Overnight for $3.99. Already a member? Sign in.
|
|||||||||||||
Better Together
Customers Who Bought This Item Also Bought
The Monster at Our Door: The Global Threat of Avian Flu by Mike Davis  (15)
$11.20
|
New Guinea Tapeworms and Jewish Grandmothers: Tales of Parasites and People by Robert S. Desowitz (3)
$10.17
|
Year of Wonders: A Novel of the Plague by Geraldine Brooks  (307)
|
Research Methods in Health Promotion by Richard A. Crosby (2)
$52.00
|
Epidemics and History: Disease, Power and Imperialism by Sheldon Watts  (7)
$23.00
|
Editorial Reviews
From Publishers Weekly
Wills combines a vivid, gripping history of the impact of diseases upon civilization with a sobering survey of current plagues such as AIDS and resurgent tuberculosis. He examines bubonic plague in the Byzantine Empire, which reemerged eight centuries later as Europe's Black Death; dispassionately reviews the unresolved controversy over whether Columbus had syphilis and introduced it to Spain; and follows the devastating course of malaria in West Africa, bejel (a syphilis-like disease) among Middle Eastern Bedouins and such scourges as yellow fever; yaws, an infectious, contagious tropical disease; typhoid; and Ebola. A biology professor at UC-San Diego, Wills maintains that pathogens have helped shape the diversity of complex ecosystems as well as humans' immunological and biochemical diversity. Furthermore, he suggests, some germs have made a "Faustian bargain," an evolutionary compromise, altering their structures to become dependent on the specific behavior of their chosen hosts. This more balanced, less alarmist report deserves a place alongside Laurie Garrett's The Coming Plague and Richard Preston's The Hot Zone. Photos.
Copyright 1996 Reed Business Information, Inc. --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.
From Library Journal
Richard M. Davidson's narration of Wills's journey through the occurrence of plagues up to the present AIDS epidemic (LJ 9/15/96) is well paced and distinct. Wills's work is based on the experience of scientists and physicians; he explores the origins of disease and their movement with the corresponding migration of human populations. Wills offers a positive attitude forged with a faith in technological and natural forces. Lively anecdotes make this a popular work, but the intricacies of pathogen life will be more appreciated by those with a more solid background in genetics and microbiology. Recommended for academic and larger public libraries.?Catherine Swenson, Norwich Univ. Lib., Northfield, Vt.
Copyright 1997 Reed Business Information, Inc. --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.
See all Editorial Reviews
Wills combines a vivid, gripping history of the impact of diseases upon civilization with a sobering survey of current plagues such as AIDS and resurgent tuberculosis. He examines bubonic plague in the Byzantine Empire, which reemerged eight centuries later as Europe's Black Death; dispassionately reviews the unresolved controversy over whether Columbus had syphilis and introduced it to Spain; and follows the devastating course of malaria in West Africa, bejel (a syphilis-like disease) among Middle Eastern Bedouins and such scourges as yellow fever; yaws, an infectious, contagious tropical disease; typhoid; and Ebola. A biology professor at UC-San Diego, Wills maintains that pathogens have helped shape the diversity of complex ecosystems as well as humans' immunological and biochemical diversity. Furthermore, he suggests, some germs have made a "Faustian bargain," an evolutionary compromise, altering their structures to become dependent on the specific behavior of their chosen hosts. This more balanced, less alarmist report deserves a place alongside Laurie Garrett's The Coming Plague and Richard Preston's The Hot Zone. Photos.
Copyright 1996 Reed Business Information, Inc. --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.
From Library Journal
Richard M. Davidson's narration of Wills's journey through the occurrence of plagues up to the present AIDS epidemic (LJ 9/15/96) is well paced and distinct. Wills's work is based on the experience of scientists and physicians; he explores the origins of disease and their movement with the corresponding migration of human populations. Wills offers a positive attitude forged with a faith in technological and natural forces. Lively anecdotes make this a popular work, but the intricacies of pathogen life will be more appreciated by those with a more solid background in genetics and microbiology. Recommended for academic and larger public libraries.?Catherine Swenson, Norwich Univ. Lib., Northfield, Vt.
Copyright 1997 Reed Business Information, Inc. --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.
See all Editorial Reviews
Product Details
|