A National Bestseller, a New York Times Notable Book, and an Entertainment Weekly Best Book of the Year

It's the summer of 1854, and London is just emerging as one of the first modern cities in the world. But lacking the infrastructure-garbage removal, clean water, sewers-necessary to support its rapidly expanding population, the city has become the perfect breeding ground for a terrifying disease no one knows how to cure. As the cholera outbreak takes hold, a physician and a local curate are spurred to action-and ultimately solve the most pressing medical riddle of their time.

In a triumph of multidisciplinary thinking, Johnson illuminates the intertwined histories of the spread of disease, the rise of cities, and the nature of scientific inquiry, offering both a riveting history and a powerful explanation of how it has shaped the world we live in.

Editorial Reviews

Review

“Fascinating.” —The New York Times Book Review

“Thrilling.” —GQ

“Vivid.” —The New Yorker

“Thought-provoking.” —Entertainment Weekly

“By turns a medical thriller, detective story, and paean to city life, Johnson's account of the outbreak and its modern implications is a true page-turner.” —The Washington Post

“Marvelous... as was Dava Sobel's Longitude. Yet The Ghost Map is a far more ambitious and compelling work... Mr. Johnson is never less than lively and beguiling.” —The Wall Street Journal

“Steven Johnson tells the tale with verve, spicing his narrative with scenes of Dickensian squalor and the vibrant street life surrounding that squalor. But in Johnson's hands, The Ghost Map morphs into something more than mere history.” —The San Diego Union-Tribune

“Johnson adds a new and welcome element—old-fashioned storytelling flair... to his fractal, multifaceted method of unraveling the scientific mysteries of everyday life.” —Los Angeles Times Book Review

“Steven Johnson gives us history at its best: colorful, connected and compelling. At the core is a medical mystery, or what today would be called an epidemiological detective story... A masterpiece of historical writing.” —The Seattle Times

“This is more than a great detective story. It's the triumph of reason and evidence over superstition and theory, and Johnson tells it in loving detail.” —Chicago Tribune

About the Author

Steven Johnson is the bestselling author of eleven books, including Where Good Ideas Come From, Wonderland, and The Ghost Map. He's the host and co-creator of the Emmy-winning PBS/BBC series How We Got To Now, and the host of the podcast American Innovations. He lives in Brooklyn and Marin County, California with his wife and three sons.

See all Editorial Reviews

Product details

Paperback: 328 pages
Publisher: Riverhead Books; Reprint edition (October 2, 2007)
Language: English
ISBN-10: 1594482691
ISBN-13: 978-1594482694
Product Dimensions: 5.4 x 0.7 x 8.2 inches
Shipping Weight: 8.8 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
Average Customer Review: 490 customer reviews
Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #14,854 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)
- #7 in Books > Medical Books > Basic Sciences > Microbiology
- #7 in Books > Medical Books > Medicine > Internal Medicine > Pathology > Diseases > Viral
- #8 in Books > Medical Books > Medicine > Internal Medicine > Infectious Disease > Communicable Diseases

Would you like to tell us about a lower price?
If you are a seller for this product, would you like to suggest updates through seller support?

Be the first video

Your name here

490 customer reviews

Review this product

Write a customer review

Showing 1-4 of 490 reviews

There was a problem filtering reviews right now. Please try again later.

whj

science/sociology/engineering

April 7, 2017

Format: PaperbackVerified Purchase

Through the London epidemic of Cholera in 1854, the author presents the Victorian era science, public opinions and participating individuals in the pursuit of stopping the epidemic. The book is about the urbanization of society and subsequent public health challenges, and how the experience shaped the management of urban governing through science, sociology and engineering and the future ramifications of urban issues in the time of global dangers. It is one of those exemplary non fiction, history/science/technology books that are entertaining with interesting participants, and their opponents--personal, political and environmental--, but in the end the triumph against all odds, thanks to some luck, but a whole lot of tenacity and scientific and personal integrity and faith. There are many lessons, one of which is what Susan Sontag wrote about as well, the malice of attaching morality to disease--here, for example phrenology, or internal constitution as a factor, classism, or the treatment of people with AIDS during the Reagan administration in our time. I found the only problem with this book is that his Epilogue is way too long than necessary, and he repeats same issues that have been discussed already.

11 people found this helpful

Helpful

Comment

Old Texan

A triumph of the scientific method

February 14, 2018

Format: PaperbackVerified Purchase

A very good and interesting introduction to English life of the ordinary people. The aristocrat's life of ease rested on the shoulders of these people who struggled just to live. The primary reason that country people began to move to the cities was because many estates were converted to sheep farming. See the history of the so-called 'Highland clearances'.
The description of the disposal of human bodies and graveyards in general makes one wonder why cremation was not widespread.
Concerning Johnson's discussion of the scavengers in third world countries, in America, in the 21st Century we still have people who make their living scavenging the streets, highways and dumpsters for metal, such as aluminum cans.
It's interesting that Dr. Snow and the Rev. Whitehead actually interviewed people in the cholera infected areas. The aristocracy generally had no interest in the underclasses.
All in all, The Ghost Map is a document celebrating the triumph of the scientific method versus "everybody knows".
Read it. You may learn something.
Since this book was published in 2006, some sections are now dated.

4 people found this helpful

Helpful

Comment

Kurlylocs

Notable Achievement

August 5, 2015

Format: Kindle EditionVerified Purchase

“What in the world can we do with all of this s***?” That was the question of the day for two million 19th century Londoners. The night soil men proved ill equipped to keep up with removing the volumes of human excrement overflowing from cesspools and rising in basements of the Soho and Golden Square neighborhoods. It was clear London needed a new sewage system.

Opening the pages of this most impressive account of sleuthing the source of the cholera outbreak was simply fascinating. Reverend Henry Whitehead and Dr. John Snow, two strangers of different backgrounds, joined together by circumstance shared valuable information and expertise. Independently each spent countless of hours interviewing, recording, and analyzing all collected data. The scientific mind of Dr. Snow compiled a map indicating the location and number of deaths therein. Whitehead as a trusted, respected local was key in turning the made up minds of city agencies who stubbornly clung to the idea the disease originated in the foul, smelly air to accepting the actual catalyst for the outbreak.

This is really an outstanding detective story very well told. A history lesson if you will. The facts, players and uncanny elusiveness of this indiscriminate killer called cholera progressed systematically without the bog down of boring statistics. The author skillfully carries history into our modern times with glimpses into our foreseeable future. A notable writing achievement.

4 people found this helpful

Helpful

Comment

ARGTop Contributor: Pets

an interesting story about two determined men, public health, and how much city life has and hasn't changed.

May 31, 2017

Format: PaperbackVerified Purchase

This would be a five star book if the last 30 pages hadn't drifted into a conversation on nuclear weapons that is only tangentially related to the book itself. Anyone who has ever taken an epidemiology class has heard of John Snow and the Broad Street Pump, but this was a much more detailed account. In the same spirit of the Microbe Hunters, Steven Johnson puts his readers in the mind of the subjects. The quotes are real the thoughts inferred, but the story comes to life in a way a more traditional biographical or timeline approach can never do. Whether you care about cholera outbreaks in Victorian London or not, this is an interesting story about two determined men, public health, and how much city life has and hasn't changed.

2 people found this helpful

Helpful

Comment

Set up an Amazon Giveaway

Amazon Giveaway allows you to run promotional giveaways in order to create buzz, reward your audience, and attract new followers and customers. Learn more about Amazon Giveaway

This item: The Ghost Map: The Story of London's Most Terrifying Epidemic--and How It Changed Science, Cities, and the Modern World

Set up a giveaway

Pages with related products. See and discover other items: maps of africa, great britain, european map, european maps, cities of the world, chris johnson books

Buy New

$15.30

Buy Used

$10.87

Other Sellers on Amazon

The Ghost Map: The Story of London's Most Terrifying Epidemic--and How It Changed Science, Cities, and the Modern World Paperback – October 2, 2007

Sponsored products related to this item (What's this?)

Editorial Reviews

Review

About the Author

Product details

Related Video Shorts (0)

Be the first video

Sponsored products related to this item (What's this?)

490 customer reviews

Review this product

Read reviews that mention

Showing 1-4 of 490 reviews

There was a problem filtering reviews right now. Please try again later.

Set up an Amazon Giveaway

Buy New $15.30

Buy Used $10.87

Sorry, there was a problem.

Sorry, there was a problem.

Other Sellers on Amazon

The Ghost Map: The Story of London's Most Terrifying Epidemic--and How It Changed Science, Cities, and the Modern World Paperback – October 2, 2007

Sponsored products related to this item (What's this?)

Editorial Reviews

Review

About the Author

Product details

Related Video Shorts (0)

Be the first video

Sponsored products related to this item (What's this?)

490 customer reviews

Review this product

Read reviews that mention

Showing 1-4 of 490 reviews

There was a problem filtering reviews right now. Please try again later.

Set up an Amazon Giveaway

Buy New

$15.30

Buy Used

$10.87