Books on epidemics
Rosefolly
3 years ago
last modified: 3 years ago
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vee_new
3 years agoannpanagain
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Read Any Good Books Lately?
Comments (6)I just finished " Bloodletting and Miraculous Cures". Another Canadian book. Great stuff. I don't often enjoy medical type stories, but this is fantastic! I highly recommend it. I also just finally finished a one of the "Sandman" graphic novels by Neil Gaiman. I loved all of his other works that I'd read, but I'm not, nor have I ever been a "comic" person. I finally got into it, read it, and it's not so bad. I suspect they'll grow on me. Anyone have a Library Thing account?...See MoreSimilar books? (science theme)
Comments (14)These are some of the titles that I have personally tried: * The Power of Habit: Why We do What we do in Life and Business - Charles Duhigg * Anything by Malcolm Gladwell is fun to read (sociology type stuff) * Sin in the Second City (history of brothel in Chicago) - Karen Abbott * Candyfreak: A Journey Through the Chocolate Underbelly of America - Steve Almond (just ok) * Woman: An Intimate Geography - Natalie Angier * Necropolis: London and its Dead - Catharine Arnold * The Great Influenza - John M. Barry (history of 1918 flu pandemic) * The City of Falling Angels - John Berendt * A Walk in the Woods: Rediscovering America on the Appalachian Trail - Bill Bryson (HILARIOUS!) * At Home - Bill Bryson * The Mother Tongue: English and how it got that way - Bill Bryson - just ok * Nickel and Dimed: On (Not) Getting by in America - Barbara Ehrenreich (controversial and interesting) * The Worst Hard Time: The Untold Story of Those Who Survived the Great American Dustbowl - Timothy Egan (fascinating and of regional interest). Fabbo. Anything by Egan will be good, I think. * The Wal-Mart Effect - Charles Fishman (examination of how Wal-mart has changed things) * Watching the English - sociology of UK - Kate Fox (interesting) * Color: A History of the Palette - Victoria Finlay - just purchased this one⦠* Stuff: Compulsive Hoarding and the Meaning of Things - Randy O. Frost * The Dead Beat: History of obit writing - Marilyn Johnson * The Ghost Map - Steven Johnson (Victorian cholera epidemic and public health) * The Great Mortality (history of Black Death) - John Kelley * The Devil in the White City - Erik Larson * Thunderstruck - Erik Larson (he also has a new release out about US diplomat in HitlerâÂÂs Berlin) * IsaacâÂÂs Storm: deadly hurricane down south Texas - Erik Larson * The ChildrenâÂÂs Blizzard - David Laskin * Women of the Raj - Margaret MacMillan (specialist but interesting if you like British history in India - otherwise probably not!) * No Idle Hands: A Social History of American Knitting - Anne McDonald. (I donâÂÂt knit, but surprisingly this was one of the best books I have read this year. Very entertaining and interesting.) * The Library at Night - Alberto Manguel (good and intellectually challenging) * The Emperor of Maladies (history of cancer) - Siddartha Mukherjee - high up the TBR pile * The Orchid Thief - Susan Orlean (good) * Rabbit-Proof Fence - Doris Pilkington (Australian classic about Aboriginal tribes - very moving) * Blood and Guts: A Short History of Medicine - Roy Porter * Stiff - Mary Roach * Bonk - Mary Roach * Spook: Science Tackles the After life - Mary Roach * Packing for Mars - Mary Roach * Fast Food Nation: The Dark Side of the All American Meal - Eric Schlosser * And the Band Played On - Randy Shilts (upfront history of AIDS epidemic) - there is a new documentary about......See MoreThe lion roars while we settle down to read
Comments (73)Tim and anyone interested in plagues and pestilences I have a very interesting book The Scourging Angel: The Black Death in the British Isles by Benedict Gummer. This is not a book about what caused the plague but instead concentrates on the spread of the disease. The author must have studied thousands of ancient records from church archives, town and county courts and even lesser manorial roles which have enabled him to track the plague as it made its way through Europe and up the British Isles. Amazing to think that a country at the height of medieval prosperity could be so devastated within a couple of years probably losing almost half the population and changing the economy and way of life for virtually everyone. The author argues that the breakdown of the feudal system, church corruption, 'peasant power' etc would have happened anyway, but that the Black Death probably speeded it up. Lots of useful maps to help you find your way along the 'plague routes'. Here is a link that might be useful: The Scourging Angel...See MoreBook - "Year of Wonders"
Comments (2)Based on what's been reported on plague in ancient times, it's far more likely that a village would isolate itself to keep infected outsiders out, rather than isolating itself to protect others (not that understanding of infectious diseases was advanced enough in those days to make such connections). The book might serve as a reminder that if herbal remedies are all you have, they're not going to stop a major epidemic of infectious disease....See MoreRosefolly
3 years agovee_new
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3 years agoCarolyn Newlen
3 years agoRosefolly
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3 years agolast modified: 3 years agoannpanagain
3 years agoannpanagain
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3 years agoannpanagain
3 years agolast modified: 3 years agovee_new
3 years agoannpanagain
3 years agolast modified: 3 years agoCarolyn Newlen
3 years agovee_new
3 years agoannpanagain
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3 years agoCarolyn Newlen
3 years agoRosefolly
3 years agolast modified: 3 years agoRosefolly
3 years agolast modified: 3 years agoCarolyn Newlen
3 years agoRosefolly
3 years agovee_new
3 years agoannpanagain
3 years agolast modified: 3 years agovee_new
3 years agosheri_z6
3 years agoannpanagain
3 years agoRosefolly
3 years agoCarolyn Newlen
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3 years agoCarolyn Newlen
3 years agokathy_t
3 years agoCarolyn Newlen
3 years agoCarolyn Newlen
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3 years agoRosefolly
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