Ever since we started huddling together in communities, the story of human history has been inextricably entwined with the story of microbes. They have evolved and spread amongst us, shaping our culture through infection, disease, and pandemic. At the same time, our changing human culture has itself influenced the evolutionary path of microbes. Dorothy H. Crawford here shows that one cannot be truly understood without the other. Beginning with a dramatic...

Chronicles the last century of scientific struggle against deadly contagious disease--from the 1918 Spanish influenza pandemic to the recent SARS, Ebola and Zika epidemics--examining related epidemiological mysteries and the role of disease in exacerbating world conflicts.

"With a mix of sidebars, illustrations, photos, and graphic panels, this book uncovers the hidden truths about history's pandemics, from the Black Death to COVID-19"--

"A humorous book about history's worst plagues from the Antonine Plague, to leprosy, to polio and the heroes who fought them. In 1518, in a small town in France, Frau Troffea began dancing and didn't stop. She danced herself to her death six days later, and soon thirty-four more villagers joined her. Then more. In a month more than 400 people had died from the mysterious dancing plague. In late-nineteenth-century England an eccentric gentleman founded...

Explores how the Influenza Epidemic of 1918 intertwined with the horrors of World War I, offering insights from first-hand reports by medical professionals and survivors.

"Describes various diseases and epidemics that have occurred around the world"--

Evolutionary biologist Hendrik Poinar embarks on an epic journey to unlock the secrets of the fourteenth-century killer disease that caused the Black Death Pandemic.

"Plagues and pandemics are a part of global history, from the biblical "plague of locusts" to today's COVID-19 pandemic. Dealing with unchecked diseases and disasters has given rise to great human suffering and loss of life, but it has also played a significant role in shaping our societies. Advances in public health, medicine, scientific research, and even the arts have often been inspired by or required of those who have survived. This two-volume...