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472nd out of 565 books
—
836 voters
Germs, Genes, & Civilization: How Epidemics Shaped Who We Are Today
The Stunning Hidden Interconnections Between Microbes and Humanity
AD 452: Attila the Hun stands ready to sack Rome. No one can stop him--but he walks away. A miracle? No...dysentery. Microbes saved the Roman Empire. Nearly a millennium later, the microbes of the Black Death ended the Middle Ages, making possible the Renaissance, western democracy, and the scientific revol...more
AD 452: Attila the Hun stands ready to sack Rome. No one can stop him--but he walks away. A miracle? No...dysentery. Microbes saved the Roman Empire. Nearly a millennium later, the microbes of the Black Death ended the Middle Ages, making possible the Renaissance, western democracy, and the scientific revol...more
Kindle Edition, 304 pages
Published
(first published January 30th 2004)
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David Clark is a professor of Microbiology at Southern Illinois University. And he has written a literate, accessible volume on the interaction of genes, germs, and civilization. One early example: Rome was a huge, teeming city where disease took a toll on residents. On the other hand, many dies from these diseases. On the other hand, over time, they developed resistance to the germs that they had been subjected to. So, when "barbarians" like the Huns approached, from rural backgrounds where dis...more
This book is a fascinating and sometimes humorous look at how disease has changed humans both biologically and socially. The history of the world is brief, but informative. This book is best enjoyed if you have some knowledge of world history and disease, especially since many disease discussed are a bit obscure or irrelevant today.
I am not one to highlight books, but this book has so many great passages that I made great use of my Kindle's highlight function with this one. Some of my favorit...more
I am not one to highlight books, but this book has so many great passages that I made great use of my Kindle's highlight function with this one. Some of my favorit...more
Currently reading this book. I am only about halfway through but am finding it fascinating. Of course, the fact that I was a microbiology major has nothing to do with my interest level! The content is quite dry but the author draws very interesting conclusions about the impact of disease on all of human history.
I give up. There's some good stuff here, but there's too much repetition. And there's some weird, annoying stuff too. Like the residents have called their city Istanbul for more than 600 years, so why would you call it Constantinople? There's the conflation of hygiene and sanitation throughout, so that he's describing poor sewage facilities but it sounds as if he's blaming individuals for being "dirty". There's casual sexism that doesn't need to be in there, certainly not without examination, an...more
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The first few chapters moved along slowly but the book picked up pace after that. The information the Clark provides is interesting but there are no footnotes supplied to back up his assertions. He speculates a good bit, using "maybe" and "probably" often, but this is understandable given the fact that historical records regarding past epidemics are nonexistant in most cases and he can only surmise based on his knowledge base. Also, he seems to jump from topic to topic and disease to disease a g...more
Germs, Genes, & Civilization was an ok read. It was free on the Nook; I would have felt cheated if I had spent money on it, because the book just does not deliver on its premise.
Overall, the book was very uneven. It was repetitious, the frequent digressions into evangelical atheism were annoying (Dawkins's influence in particular was VERY OBVIOUS), and I would have liked a lot more detailed discussion of the biological aspects. I felt that many of the passages dealing with biology were shall...more
Overall, the book was very uneven. It was repetitious, the frequent digressions into evangelical atheism were annoying (Dawkins's influence in particular was VERY OBVIOUS), and I would have liked a lot more detailed discussion of the biological aspects. I felt that many of the passages dealing with biology were shall...more
Not bad. I agree with his premise that historians do not credit epidemics and plagues enough for the shaping of civilization. However, he does display a massive ignorance of pre-christian religions and their beliefs (hint: just about every religion ever includes a belief in the afterlife). The science sounds good, but I'm not an epidemiologist, so take that with a grain of salt.
Overall, it was fairly engaging and interesting read. I had not really considered how long some of these diseases hung...more
Overall, it was fairly engaging and interesting read. I had not really considered how long some of these diseases hung...more
I consider finishing this book my own personal triumph. It took me over 6 months to read. The first quarter of the book was interesting, fluid, and informative. The last three quarters were repetitive, disorganized, and clearly slanted towards atheism. While I whole-heartedly believe in every individuals right to believe in any religion or lack of religion they choose, I do not think it was necessary for a book about disease and bacteria.
The organization of the information in this book was mind...more
The organization of the information in this book was mind...more
"Germs, Genes and Civilization" is a fascinating, thought-provoking survey of "how epidemics shaped who we are today" (in the words of the subtitle).
This "shaping" happens on two levels: first, bacteria, viruses, prions, fungi and other sources of nasty epidemics change the human population itself, right down to the genes we carry today. Diseases like tuberculosis, influenza, measles and even smallpox became much less virulent over time. The people who were vulnerable to the diseases died witho...more
This "shaping" happens on two levels: first, bacteria, viruses, prions, fungi and other sources of nasty epidemics change the human population itself, right down to the genes we carry today. Diseases like tuberculosis, influenza, measles and even smallpox became much less virulent over time. The people who were vulnerable to the diseases died witho...more
This, The Stand & 100 Years of Solitude are my three eternally mired-down in books so it's a triumph that I finished this; I'm proud and worked hard to get here!
Basically this should have been a 4 star book, a book about how bacteria and viruses have been the root cause and catalyst of so much of humanity's history. The author knows his stuff, has tons of interesting things to share and it ended well, and provided great info & references at the end. But oh my gosh it was repetitive &...more
Basically this should have been a 4 star book, a book about how bacteria and viruses have been the root cause and catalyst of so much of humanity's history. The author knows his stuff, has tons of interesting things to share and it ended well, and provided great info & references at the end. But oh my gosh it was repetitive &...more
The book Genes, Germs and Civilzation by David Clark is an in depth look at how the diseases and illnesses of our past and present have shaped our lives in most aspects. Overall it was a fairly interesting look into how disease and illness has actually shaped our lives over the course of our history. I originally picked this up because it was free on Amazon for the kindle and knowing it was a high priced book otherwise I took the chance one it. I'm glad I did. There are a lot of things included...more
Quite enjoyed this. It's popular science at its finest, and as such can be a bit glib at times, but it points out several compelling truths about the relationship between the human race and the smallest living things. Mr Clark sounds a few interesting warnings, though since I was already inclined to agree with his positions before reading this book, I have not had my worldview altered. Here's hoping those who come from a different perspective take heed of what he says, though.
David Clark presented some fascinating ideas regarding the relationship between germs, genes, and human culture. Historians have begun paying more attention to the role epidemics have played in the course of human history. This book aimed to look at the interplay of disease, evolution, and history. Unfortunately, the author's point could have been adequately in a paper or essay. The book became repetitive. However, he presented some worthwhile ideas that add another level of complexity to our sp...more
This book had some interesting factoids but was very repetitive and extremely disorganized. It didn't break any new ground and the sections on AIDS and religion were rife with illogical conjectures. If I hadn't been reading it on a Kindle I would have thrown the book across the room. The first half or so I gave 3 stars, the last quarter 1 star. I'm averaging it out to a 2 but I would not recommend this book to anyone.
This was an excellent book. It's well written for the lay person. Anyone who's taken high school biology, or even just 7th grade life sciences, will have no problems understanding the biological aspects of this book. It makes for a nice companion to Guns, Germs, and Steel: The Fates of Human Societies in explaining how societies have been affected by the germs they've been exposed to. It's not terribly long, but it's broken up into sub-chapters every couple of pages. The table of contents is lon...more
Really cool look at how genes and germs have shaped civilizations throughout history. Shows not only how germs and genetic mutations have been responsible for economies and wars and visa-versa. Great hypothesis that is backed up with science, proof, evidence, and analysis without being too dry. Very readable.
I confess I didn't finish this book. I may come back to it at some point after I've read every other book in the world that is more compelling and interesting which will be never. Not that Clark's book wasn't interesting-- it was. It's on my Kindle and always there to be read whenever I get around to it.
Although I did learn a lot from reading this book, I did not enjoy the writing style that much. Perhaps the author wrote for a different reader, someone who would not read the book merely because it was a free Kindle download. However, I have read many other books that covered similar topics and in some cases, the writing was compelling, to the point that I didn't want the book to end. However, if you just want an overview of this topic, you might find this book educational.
David Clark provides a quick, popular history of the interaction of germs on genes and civilization. He let slips his political stance on several occasions, but provides a decent introduction to the topic with many interesting readings listed in the back.
I thought this was a really interesting book, looking at the social effect of disease rather than just the biological side. The only real problem I had was that it did seem that the author had his own bias on a few topics, which had a bit of a jarring effect.
While I completely disagree with his philosophy (evolution and atheism), his historical interpretation on the effects of pandemics and the diseases that cause them was was very interesting. This was a really good read.
Helpful book in understanding some of our greatest fears concerning epidemics. But there is much more interesting information included if you have any interest in science and people.
Interesting thoughts and ideas, but I thought it would have worked better with more cohesive organization. I felt like it skipped around a lot, and interesting threads would trail off.
Not a lot of new material here for someone interested in the subject, but a solid, fun-to-read book on the subject.
Very interesting look at how disease and bacteria have had a positive as well as negative effect on human development.
Great book! Informative and an overall great read. While I enjoy books on diseases and history, this book is a book I would recommend to all!
A bit stiff and repetitive, but a good overview, especially for spec fic worldbuilders, of some of the dynamics regarding population density.
Although difficult to plow through at times, this is an extremely interesting read.
the story of how civilization was shaped by disease
the black plague may have been awful but it did open up a lot of jobs
the black plague may have been awful but it did open up a lot of jobs
I only read some of the free sample of this book (from ibook). I was really intrigued at first, but now i've lost interest. It's an interesting argument, and i know my review cant be that accurate b/c i only read such a small portion. But i personally felt that what i read was sufficient and i get his argument. I might pick it up again at a later time.
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David Clark was born June 1952 in Croydon, a London suburb. After winning a scholarship to Christ's College, Cambridge, he received his B.A. in 1973. In 1977 got his PhD from Bristol University for work on antibiotic resistance. He then left England for postdoctoral research at Yale and then the University of Illinois. He joined the faculty of Southern Illinois University in 1981 and is now a prof...more
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