What do you think?
Rate this book
Plagues, Pandemics and Viruses: From the Plague of Athens to Covid 19
Pandemics can come in waves―like tidal waves. They change societies. They disrupt life. They end lives. As far back as 3000 B.C.E. (the Bronze Age), plagues have stricken mankind. COVID-19 is just the latest example, but history shows that life continues. It shows that knowledge and social cooperation can save lives.
Viruses are neither alive nor dead and are the closest thing we have to zombies. Their only known function is to replicate themselves, which can have devastating consequences on their hosts. Most, but not all, bacteria are good for us. Some are truly horrific, including those that caused the bubonic, pneumonic, and septicemic plagues. And viruses and bacteria are always morphing, evolving, and changing, making them hard to treat. Plagues, Pandemics, and From the Plague of Athens to Covid 19 is an enlightening, and sometimes frightening, recounting of the destruction wrought by disease, but it also looks at what man has done and can do to overcome even the deadliest and bleakest of contagions. More than two years in the making, author Heather E. Quinlan was deep into her research and writing when COVID hit. She quickly saw the similarities to plagues from the past. Plagues, Pandemics, and From the Plague of Athens to Covid 19 not only covers the history, causes, medical treatments, human responses, and aftermath of the world’s biggest pandemics, but it also draws parallels to the present. It chronicles the diseases that have inflicted man throughout the millennia, including …
Viruses are neither alive nor dead and are the closest thing we have to zombies. Their only known function is to replicate themselves, which can have devastating consequences on their hosts. Most, but not all, bacteria are good for us. Some are truly horrific, including those that caused the bubonic, pneumonic, and septicemic plagues. And viruses and bacteria are always morphing, evolving, and changing, making them hard to treat. Plagues, Pandemics, and From the Plague of Athens to Covid 19 is an enlightening, and sometimes frightening, recounting of the destruction wrought by disease, but it also looks at what man has done and can do to overcome even the deadliest and bleakest of contagions. More than two years in the making, author Heather E. Quinlan was deep into her research and writing when COVID hit. She quickly saw the similarities to plagues from the past. Plagues, Pandemics, and From the Plague of Athens to Covid 19 not only covers the history, causes, medical treatments, human responses, and aftermath of the world’s biggest pandemics, but it also draws parallels to the present. It chronicles the diseases that have inflicted man throughout the millennia, including …
416 pages, Paperback
Published November 1, 2020
25 people are currently reading
88 people want to read
Ratings & Reviews
Friends & Following
Create a free account to discover what your friends think of this book!
Community Reviews
Displaying 1 - 25 of 25 reviews
August 27, 2023
Some context for this review. I have a PhD in epidemiology, am an Associate Professor of Global Health and Epidemiology, teach courses on vaccines and infectious diseases in which I routinely sprinkle historical tidbits to put some context in for my students. So, I was excited to see a new infectious disease focused book that talked about the history of plagues and pandemics.
However, this book was about as close to a Did Not Finish (I'm a completionist at heart) as I've come. The book with riddled with scientific inaccuracies that highlight, to me, that whole there was an editor for the book, there was no scientific editor or review.
There were many minor issues (e.g. getting the scientific name for the bacteria that causes syphilis incorrect, saying that if we got rid of all bacteria on earth we wouldn't have moldy bread but mold is a fungal growth, etc) but also some major issues.
The horrific Tuskegee Syphilis Study doesn't need misinformation to show how bad it was. But the book indicates that there were individuals who weren't infected with syphilis (correct) but then goes on to say that they were intentionally infected in the study (false). Yes, the US government has been involved in studies where there were intentional exposure to sexually transmitted infections (1946-8 innoculation study in Guatemala for example) but this was not part of the Tuskegee Study
Overall this book has very little focus on direction and is a perfect example of "more is not necessarily better". So many topics are covered that it feels haphazard and unorganized, and there is very little critical reflection or connection on some of the key points. For example, the only time Ignaz Semmelweis is mentioned is around hand washing in the context of COVID-19, but the story of Semmelweis is iconic in our understanding of infectious disease transmission yet was glanced over.
There were some good historical lessons in the book, it wasn't all bad, but overall I was extremely disappointed by the lack of quality control on this topic in this book.
However, this book was about as close to a Did Not Finish (I'm a completionist at heart) as I've come. The book with riddled with scientific inaccuracies that highlight, to me, that whole there was an editor for the book, there was no scientific editor or review.
There were many minor issues (e.g. getting the scientific name for the bacteria that causes syphilis incorrect, saying that if we got rid of all bacteria on earth we wouldn't have moldy bread but mold is a fungal growth, etc) but also some major issues.
The horrific Tuskegee Syphilis Study doesn't need misinformation to show how bad it was. But the book indicates that there were individuals who weren't infected with syphilis (correct) but then goes on to say that they were intentionally infected in the study (false). Yes, the US government has been involved in studies where there were intentional exposure to sexually transmitted infections (1946-8 innoculation study in Guatemala for example) but this was not part of the Tuskegee Study
Overall this book has very little focus on direction and is a perfect example of "more is not necessarily better". So many topics are covered that it feels haphazard and unorganized, and there is very little critical reflection or connection on some of the key points. For example, the only time Ignaz Semmelweis is mentioned is around hand washing in the context of COVID-19, but the story of Semmelweis is iconic in our understanding of infectious disease transmission yet was glanced over.
There were some good historical lessons in the book, it wasn't all bad, but overall I was extremely disappointed by the lack of quality control on this topic in this book.
March 9, 2021
A very interesting, informative book about viruses, bacteria and plagues throughout history. I'd give the "sciency" chapter(s) at the beginning and the Covid chapter at the end a 2-star rating, and the chapters on various plagues a 4-star rating. Definitely worth the read.
Also - loved that the author included "addiction" as a plague.
Also - loved that the author included "addiction" as a plague.
April 13, 2021
I really enjoyed this book. I don’t read a lot of non-fiction, but this book caught me with the first few pages. The historical details and context really fleshed out the history of disease and how it has shaped the modern world. The author gives a concise and easy to understand explanation of how each virus or bacteria works, the historical context for each disease, the treatments (or lack thereof) available, and the effect on human civilization.
One main take-away? Do NOT get gonorrhea. Or Ebola.
One main take-away? Do NOT get gonorrhea. Or Ebola.
January 11, 2022
A very informative and well written historical perspective on the vast world of biological enemies that "plague" us to this day. They always have and always will be a part of our lives. And as we know all to well we keep learning the lessons these critters bestow upon us.
Quilan takes us through many of the topics in a detailed rather fascinating and well written presentation. She culminates in of course our present day malady, Coronovirus, particularly number 19. Aside from the medical side she delves much into the political swirl that played out primarily in the past administration. It is clear her political persuasion as the bad players are exposed, and her heroes Dr.Fauci and Andrew Cuomo are saluted.
In general a good presentation that allows us to see how fragile things can be in our biological world and the destruction that can occur. Yet in conclusion we struggle at times to live with them but can't live without them; our cohabitants viruses and bacteria.
Quilan takes us through many of the topics in a detailed rather fascinating and well written presentation. She culminates in of course our present day malady, Coronovirus, particularly number 19. Aside from the medical side she delves much into the political swirl that played out primarily in the past administration. It is clear her political persuasion as the bad players are exposed, and her heroes Dr.Fauci and Andrew Cuomo are saluted.
In general a good presentation that allows us to see how fragile things can be in our biological world and the destruction that can occur. Yet in conclusion we struggle at times to live with them but can't live without them; our cohabitants viruses and bacteria.
December 29, 2024
Rather good overview of the topic, but David Quammens Spillover: Animal Infections and the Next Human Pandemic is much better read. This one unfortunately cant seem to find its niche. In some places it is very (too) detailed, in other places just too brief in facts. If it was meant for YA readers I could compromise on some of the crude simplifications and mistakes... But as it in other places goes into such detail in the immune system, I must think it was just a mistake after miskate as it is not trying to dumb down everything.
September 19, 2025
audiobook. Narrator Samara Naeymi. Hands down best non fiction narrator I've listened to all year if not ever. Overall book is one of top non fiction books I've listened to all year. I had super low expectations - thought I'd be subjected to another dry history manual that I couldn't stick with last the intro. Wrong. Well written and engaging. Highly recommended. Note: book was written in middle of covid 19 pandemic. since the beginning of the pandemic I made the comment to nearly anyone complaining about government/ Healthcare/ individual/ business actions that we literally won't know what we SHOULD HAVE DONE for at least 5 years. now that we're at that 5 year point I'm attempting to figure it out for myself. loved the history here.
February 5, 2023
I have really enjoyed this book. An excellent presentation of endemic and pandemic illness through human history with fascinating science. The author does sometimes go off on more political tangents (such has military conflict between Spanish and Native Americans), which is why I am choosing to shelve it without finishing the final chapters. I don’t have the energy to relive the political turmoil from the start of the COVID pandemic right now, but may return to the title either in whole or just for the COVID chapter when it is not so fresh. I would recommend this book to anyone interested in the science or social impact of wide spread illness.
July 9, 2024
The metaphors the author uses to describe what bacteria and viruses do make this an excellent book for an intro into historical epidemiology. It gives an informative but brief overview of various illnesses, including STIs, which I found rather interesting. I personally have never read up on the sti epidemic's it's always been a relatively taboo subject, and trying to find resources that are not overly scientific or biased is difficult. This explained the sti epidemic in an empathetic way and involved some biology.
April 9, 2025
the multiple scientific inaccuracies are beyond infuriating. syphilis is a bacteria. the author calls it a virus.
that’s not ok. that’s a huge fault in editing.
i don’t know if it’s the FILMMAKER author who clearly did not research this book very well, or the editors who did zero fact checking, but it’s essentially misinformation.
read it for entertainment if you’d like, but this is not a resource for scientific information.
that’s not ok. that’s a huge fault in editing.
i don’t know if it’s the FILMMAKER author who clearly did not research this book very well, or the editors who did zero fact checking, but it’s essentially misinformation.
read it for entertainment if you’d like, but this is not a resource for scientific information.
January 7, 2021
Overall a very informative book which gives a very useful account of a number of diseases. Towards the end the author spends some time covering politics and the US approach on COVID-19, and as a non-US person I did not find this any useful or relevant.
November 7, 2022
Plagues are nothing new, even human-caused plague, such as the transmission of disease from Europe to the Americas. We do not live apart from nature. The last outbreak taught us this. Will we learn before a lab releases a deadlier poison in the future? This is an excellent book.
May 5, 2025
referenced us still being in lock down and the parts about addiction and covid felt incomplete. as did the HIV section not being up to date. she mostly summarized other books Ive read without citing them
July 27, 2025
Interesting for sure, and a good introduction into the history of diseases and how they’ve evolved and affected humanity… but several factual inaccuracies. Certain diseases in the book are stated to be caused by viruses when they’re actually caused by bacteria and vice versa.
December 12, 2020
Very informative and interesting! I learned a bunch!
February 28, 2021
An excellent overview of plagues and how they interact with society. Nice companion to Laurie Garret's The Coming Plague.
May 27, 2021
It's written in textbook style, with some humor thrown in. Some of the particulars of virology are hard to follow for non-scientists but it's a comprehensive read.
July 27, 2021
Heard on audiobook. An outstandingly educational and important book. Simplified without lessening the facts about plagues and how they impacted the world. The chapter on addiction was fascinating.
November 6, 2021
A good read. Not bogged down in the science.
Read
August 2, 2024DNF. Same (incorrect) info as in many other books, but at a folksy level-maybe for school kids-with random Disney references, etc.
January 9, 2025
Some good information on the history of illnesses. On the other hand lots of historical information was wrong and it seems information was conflicting. Don’t recommend.
December 30, 2025
Interesting read
March 17, 2023
this was a very interesting look into the history of diseases and medicine. it focused a lot on history which i enjoyed and it wasn't crazy scientific so it was easy to understand. covid chapter was depressing - i much prefer learning about the past than the present...
May 23, 2021
Half of this book is garbage.
Displaying 1 - 25 of 25 reviews