Twelve Diseases That Changed Our World

Twelve Diseases That Changed Our World [Kindle Edition]

Author: Irwin W. Sherman | Language: English | ISBN: B00C4YX86S | Format: PDF, EPUB

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• Reviews

Twelve Diseases That Changed Our World
You can download Twelve Diseases That Changed Our World [Kindle Edition] from mediafire, rapishare, and mirror link Covers the history of twelve important diseases and addresses public health responses and societal upheavals.

• Chronicles the ways disease outbreaks shaped traditions and institutions of Western civilization.
• Explains the effects, causes, and outcomes from past epidemics.
• Describes a dozen diseases to show how disease control either was achieved or failed.
• Makes clear the interrelationship between diseases and history.
• Presents material in a compelling, clear, and jargon-free prose for a wide audience.
• Provides a picture of the best practices for dealing with disease outbreaks. Download latest books on mediafire and other links compilation Twelve Diseases That Changed Our World

• File Size: 489 KB
• Print Length: 236 pages
• Page Numbers Source ISBN: 1555814662
• Publisher: ASM Press (March 31, 2013)
• Sold by: Amazon Digital Services, Inc.
• Language: English
• ASIN: B00C4YX86S
• Text-to-Speech: Enabled
• X-Ray:
  Not Enabled
• Lending: Enabled
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #586,337 Paid in Kindle Store (See Top 100 Paid in Kindle Store)

I ordered this book from the local distributor at a symposium on infectious diseases after I quickly skimmed through it. Superficially, it looked interesting and comprehensive. However, after reading it thoroughly I came away rather disappointed. I would not query Sherman's selection of diseases (porphyria/hemophilia, cholera, potato blight, malaria, syphilis, TB, smallpox, black death, yellow fever, influenza, AIDS) as comprehensively covering both the range of pathogens (from fungus to bacteria to virus) and the mode of transmission (inherited, airborne/ droplet, water-borne, STD, vector-borne) that have influenced human activity for the past several centuries. Rather, the problem is with the depth of discussion and the presumed audience. Each disease has a chapter devoted to it and begins with a potted history including origins, pathogenesis, mode of transmission, treatment and control, and how these have changed over time as new knowledge is discovered. So far, so good. However, closer inspection reveals that each history is culled from a handful of sources - invariably including the author's previous book "The Power of Plagues". There are no references cited in the text in any of the chapters making it difficult to verify or follow-up facts or interesting points oneself. At the end of the book there is a chapter-by-chapter bibliography revealing the paucity of information the author has used in compiling the book. The discussion and consequences of each disease discussed at the end of each chapter are also rather disappointing. Obvious points are laboured - more laboratory studies, more health promotion and education are called for; while more subtle points - e.g. cultural/societal factors affecting disease spread and control are skimmed over. In summary, this book falls between two stools - far too simplistic for an academic audience and rather too advanced for the layman (despite the author frequently resorting to everyday analogies to describe complex biological events).

By DrPig39

This is a fascinating read. I thoroughly enjoyed it, but I'm a clinical microbiology nerd. However, after I read it, my father, who does not work in medicine, borrowed it and still found it very interesting. It is not written in clinical terminology, so anyone can understand it. It is a quick, but very informative read. I have actually read it twice!

By Lisa R. Kendall

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