Epidemics and society
Frank M. Snowden · 2019
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About this book
As seen on "60 Minutes" a "brilliant and sobering" (Paul Kennedy, Wall Street Journal) look at the history and human costs of pandemic outbreaks The World Economic Forum #1 book to read for context on the coronavirus outbreak "Well-written, highly entertaining and relevant."--Financial Times, "Best Books of 2020: Readers' Choice" This sweeping exploration of the impact of epidemic diseases looks at how mass infectious outbreaks have shaped society, from the Black Death to today. In a clear and accessible style, Frank M. Snowden reveals the ways that diseases have not only influenced medical science and public health, but also transformed the arts, religion, intellectual history, and warfare. A multidisciplinary and comparative investigation of the medical and social history of the major epidemics, this volume touches on themes such as the evolution of medical therapy, plague literature, poverty, the environment, and mass hysteria. In addition to providing historical perspective on diseases such as smallpox, cholera, and tuberculosis, Snowden examines the fallout from recent epidemics such as HIV/AIDS, SARS, and Ebola and the question of the world's preparedness for the next generation of diseases.
Appears in these reading paths
Malaria: The Best Books on the Mosquito and the Disease It Carries, in Order
Viruses & pandemics: the reading path
Cholera: The Best Books on the Disease That Invented Epidemiology, in Order
The Black Death: the best books on plague and pandemics in history
Epidemiology: how we track disease & save lives
Global Health: The Best Books on Medicine, Poverty and Equity, in Order
Best Books on the Spanish Flu of 1918, in Reading Order
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