Sarah's review
The Ghost Map: The Story of London's Most Terrifying Epidemic--and How It Changed Science, Cities, and the Modern World
by Steven Johnson
Sarah's review
The Ghost Map: The Story of London's Most Terrifying Epidemic--and How It Changed Science, Cities, and the Modern World by Steven Johnson
Sarah's review
rating:
bookshelves:
history,
non-fiction
A nicely researched look at London's cholera outbreaks, their causes, and the effort to modernize the city's water and sewage systems in the mid-1800's.
Johnson's main focus is on Dr. Snow, the physician and researcher who devoted enormous effort to proving cholera is transmitted via contaminated water, not by malodorous air. The details of his work are remarkable: sociology, physiology, and cartography were all required to substantiate his theory.
A stronger editor would have been a considerable improvement, as Johnson has a definite tendency to reiterate his main theses and to meditate on theories only tangentially related to epidemiology and urbanization. This would've been a better book had he pared it down to half its length and chosen to explore additional examples of urban planning, the spread of disease, and how they're interrelated.
I originally spotted this one in the B&N and made a mental note to grab it from the library. Turned out to be a good decision, becaus...more
Johnson's main focus is on Dr. Snow, the physician and researcher who devoted enormous effort to proving cholera is transmitted via contaminated water, not by malodorous air. The details of his work are remarkable: sociology, physiology, and cartography were all required to substantiate his theory.
A stronger editor would have been a considerable improvement, as Johnson has a definite tendency to reiterate his main theses and to meditate on theories only tangentially related to epidemiology and urbanization. This would've been a better book had he pared it down to half its length and chosen to explore additional examples of urban planning, the spread of disease, and how they're interrelated.
I originally spotted this one in the B&N and made a mental note to grab it from the library. Turned out to be a good decision, becaus...more
