Man and Microbes: Disease and Plagues in History and Modern Times
Man and Microbes: Disease and Plagues in History and Modern Times Books
- ISBN13: 9780684822709
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Product Description
A noted medical historian places recent outbreaks of deadly diseases in historical perspective, with accounts of other alarming and recurring diseases throughout history and of the ways in which humans have adapted. Reprint. 17,500 first printing.Amazon.com Review
Even as many well loved books on microbes focus on contemporary pathogens and emerging epidemics, Arno Karlen’s Man and Microbes provides a historical look at the coevolution of humans and microorganisms. Karlen speculates that infections are vital to the administer of life itself, that the mitochondria in every animal cell, for instance, are likely descendants of infectious agents. He then traces the development of man from primitive hunter-gatherer to urban dweller to world tourist, pointedly analyzing how socio-ecological changes have contributed to the changing incidence of disease. With incredible detail, Karlen describes the origins of historical plagues (smallpox, cholera, bug, polio, and others) as well as the emergence of scourges such as hemorrhagic fever (Ebola and its cousins), Lyme disease, Legionnaires’ disease, and even the deep mysteries of retroviruses such as HIV.
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I loved reading this book. It was well written. The author made it so fascinating and educational that even if there are no colored pictures in it on every page, I still read the whole thing without getting bored.
I know it was written in 1995 thus some of the in rank is to some extent outdated, but the historical content is still the same. Much of it’s value is historical documentation of the fantastic plagues of the world through the centuries.
I highly urge this book as a reference for folks who are taking Microbiology classes.
MGH from Kodiak
Rating: 5 / 5
Karlen’s “Man and Microbes” is a excellent read, especially for the novice biology reader. I reckon everyone interested in the subjects of microbiology, medical history, and evolutionary history would delight in this book but be aware that you will not get very specific scientific detail, rather a broad overview of history. All nearly worth the time though.
Rating: 4 / 5
This book is about the new diseases that plague mankind, an epidemic of epidemics. There was a faith in social, scientific, and technological progress dating from the 19th century (p.3). For millennia, diseases killed more people than war and famine. Since the 1960s new diseases appeared, and ancient ones reappeared as resistant to drugs. One cause was the high-speed travel from airplanes. This is similar to the 19th century spread of cholera by trains and steamboats. Infection and disease are as ancient as life. Man’s modification of his environment affects other life, and his own. Germs and microbes also exchange. The tsetse glide’s presence in ancient North America corresponds roughly with the extinction of horses (p.19).
Karlen suggests that hunting and meat eating allowed humans to progress (p.22). Leaving the tropics for temperated climates avoided the parasites that still hinder development. But eating wild game can cause problems (p.24). Pages 26-28 tell of Neanderthal man, more advanced than cartoon drawings. The Agricultural Revolution produced greater bounty and more infections; these changes are joined at the hip and still occur together (p.29). Plant and animal foods place distinctive chemical signatures in human bones, as do proteins from marine and land animals (pp.32-33). Going from hunting to farming brought declining health and increasing diseases (p.34). New diseases arose: occupational, nutritional, and infectious (p.35). Intestinal helminths may have caused more hurt than the more dramatic viral and bacterial plagues (p.37). Domesticated animal brought new diseases (p.39). Farming made new breeding grounds for malaria, organic fertilizers spread both ancient and new diseases (p.41). Helminth diseases and intestinal infections make a populace sapped of energy and disease resistance (p.42). [Recall Richard Henry Dana's comments on New Englanders who settled in Spanish California; "laid back" may possibly be a medical shape up.] The Mystery Disease of Pudoc should be a warning hostile to food imported from Third World countries like Asia (p.44-45). We already know about Mad Cow Disease in Fantastic Britain. This is another warning hostile to “raw fish” or raw meat. Once one person has this disease, it can be spread by the local fish!
Reading this book will provide a small history of how diseases affected human history. Some of it may be known to you, but the book has it all in 230 pages. The Bibliography has extensive references for each chapter. The Index allows a quick reference to the many topics in this fascinating book. Page 140 tells how more abundant proteins from meat and dairy products reduced infections and mortality. [Remember this the next time you read vegetarian propaganda in a newspaper or magazine. They have a hidden agenda for their advertisers.] Measles and smallpox were biological weapons of colonialism (p.59). The Imperialism (or Globalism) of the Roman Empire was followed by new epidemics from the disease pools of Europe, Africa, India, and Plates (p.65). Will we see this repeated in the 21st century, and be followed by a new Dark Age?
Rating: 5 / 5
This is an brilliant small history of viruses and infectious diseases that attack humans. Author Arno Karlen writes lucidly and with an economy that makes this book an simple and pleasurable read for lay people who are “serious readers.” A highlight is the attention that Karlen pays to the administer through which humans and microbes have co-evolved since ancient times. He takes care to frame the issues in the broad context of evolution and the pressures that human behavior exchange and technology have placed on microbes’ natural selection, rather than viewing disease as a black-and-white battle between “us” and “them.”
Also of note is the brilliant bibliography. Karlen separates the bib into those works that are “core” to the theme and those that are supplemental reading, and he annotates the core selections to differentiate those that are primarily for scholars and those that are helpful for the general reader.
I found this book very fascinating and helpful to my overall understanding of a fascinating theme.
Rating: 5 / 5
Though to some extent dated in 2009, book remains of historical interest to non-specialist such as myself. Karlen’s writing style is attractive – a fantastic deal of research went into the book, yet theme is covered in simple to know language for the layman. For more depth on recent diseases I would urge “THE COMING PLAGUE” by Laurie Garrett. For additional theme historical context readers may find “KILLER GERMS” by Pete Moore of interest.
Rating: 5 / 5