Author: RS Bray
Publisher: James Clarke & Company
ISBN: 0718848160
Category : Science
Languages : en
Pages : 274
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Book Description
We have lived in a world that had, until the arrival in 2020 of the coronavirus Covid-19, not suffered a serious pandemic for a century, and society had almost forgotten the enormous impact created by highly infectious diseases. Infectious diseases, however, played major roles in ending the Golden Age of Athens, wrecked Justinian's plans to restore the Roman Empire to its former glory, and killed untold millions in Latin America after the Spanish invasion. Armies of Pestilence explores the impact of these diseases on history. Despite their importance, historians have tended to minimise the role of infectious disease - partly because of a lack of scientific knowledge, and this has resulted in a distorted view both of the past and of the danger of disease to modern society. In Armies of Pestilence, R.S. Bray, a distinguished biologist who here shows himself also to be an able historian, corrects this view. The book surveys the principal epidemics around the world and across the centuries, in each case discussing the origins of the outbreaks, the symptoms, the mortality rate and the social and economic effect. Where particular diseases cannot be identified with certainty the best scholarly opinions are discussed. Bray pays special attention to the infamous Yersina pestis, the organism that caused the Black Death. Other diseases discussed include malaria, smallpox, typhus, cholera and influenza, and AIDS. One of the themes of the book is the relationship between disease and war, with the former often causing more deaths than the latter, as was the case with the great influenza pandemic of 1918-19, at the end of the First World War. The inability of governments to deal effectively with disease is also made clear.
Author: Ronald Hare
Publisher:
ISBN:
Category : Medical
Languages : en
Pages : 232
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Book Description
Author: Joshua S. Loomis
Publisher: Bloomsbury Publishing USA
ISBN:
Category : Health & Fitness
Languages : en
Pages : 403
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Book Description
This book comprehensively reviews the 10 most influential epidemics in history, going beyond morbid accounts of symptoms and statistics to tell the often forgotten stories of what made these epidemics so calamitous. Unlike other books on epidemics, which either focus on the science behind how microbes cause disease or tell first-person accounts of one particular disease, Epidemics: The Impact of Germs and Their Power over Humanity takes a holistic approach to explaining how these diseases have shaped who we are as a society. Each of the worst epidemic diseases is discussed from the perspective of how it has been a causative agent of change with respect to our history, religious traditions, social interactions, and technology. In looking at world history through the lens of epidemic diseases, readers will come to appreciate how much we owe to the oldest and smallest parasites. Adults and students interested in science and history—and especially anyone who appreciates a good story and has a healthy curiosity for the lesser-known facts of life—will find this book of interest. Health-care workers will also benefit greatly from this text, as will college students majoring in biology or a pre-health field.
Author: Daniel Defoe
Publisher:
ISBN:
Category : Fires
Languages : en
Pages : 456
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Author:
Publisher:
ISBN:
Category : History
Languages : en
Pages : 156
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Author: George Gresley Perry
Publisher:
ISBN:
Category :
Languages : en
Pages : 698
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Author: William Makepeace Thackeray
Publisher:
ISBN:
Category : Electronic journals
Languages : en
Pages : 682
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Book Description
Author: William Greenhill
Publisher:
ISBN:
Category : Bible
Languages : en
Pages : 900
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Author:
Publisher:
ISBN:
Category :
Languages : en
Pages : 1118
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Book Description
Author: John Holmes Agnew
Publisher:
ISBN:
Category : Periodicals
Languages : en
Pages : 820
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Book Description
