Germs, Genes, & Civilization: How Epidemics Shaped Who We Are Today

by David P. Clark

"Clear, thoughtful, and thought-provoking, Germs, Genes & Civilization makes the case that infectious diseases have played a major role in shaping society. Clark argues that religion, morals, and even democracy have all been influenced by the smallest and most dangerous organisms on our planet. While you may not accept every argument, you will be stimulated, entertained, and enlightened."---Samuel L. Stanley, Jr., M.D., President, Stony Brook University, and former Director of the Midwest Regional Center for Excellence in Biodefense and Emerging Infectious Diseases Research

"Clark presents an insightful explanation of the invisible history all around us. He conveys the essential facts in a riveting and engaging manner that everyone, including the nonscientist, will find exceptionally interesting and revealing."---Michael C. Thomsett, author of The Inquisition

"Germs, Genes & Civilization is a fascinating and well-balanced account of how a wide variety of different kinds of microbes have influenced human evolution, culture, society, and even religious thought. Written for a lay audience, the relationships between genes and disease resistance and susceptibility are clearly discussed, and the book concludes with a sober assessment of what may be in store for us in the future."---Irwin W. Sherman, Professor Emeritus, University of California, Riverside, and author of Twelve Diseases That Changed Our World and The Power of Plagues

ho's in charge here? Humans? No way. Microbes don't just outnumber us by nearly 1021 to 1: They run the Earth. In Germs, Genes & Civilization, Dr. David Clark reveals the hidden web of microbial activity that shapes our planet and molds our human destinies.

You'll discover how your genes have been shaped by battling against infectious diseases through the millennia. You'll learn how epidemics have transformed human history, over and over again---from ancient Egypt to Mexico, the Romans to Attila the Hun. You'll learn how the Black Death epidemic ended the Middle Ages, making possible the Renaissance, Western democracy, and the scientific revolution.

Perhaps most fascinating of all, Clark reveals the latest scientific and philosophical insights into the interplay between microbes, humans, and society---and previews what just might come next.

AD 452: Attila the Hun stands ready to sack Rome. No one can stop him---but he walks awaj 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 revolution. Soon after, microbes ravaged the Americas, paving the way for their European conquest.

Again and again, microbes have shaped our health, our genetics, our history, our culture, our politics, even our religion and ethics. This book reveals much that scientists and cultural historian; have learned about the pervasive interconnections between infectious microbes and humans. It also considers what our ongoing fundamental relationship with infectious microbes might mean for the future of the human species.

The "good side" of history's worst epidemics the surprising debt we owe to killer diseases

Where diseases came from...and where diseases came from...and where they may be going

Children of pestilence: disease and civilization From Egypt to Mexico, from Rome to China

STDs, sexual behavior, and culture How microbes can shape cultural cycles of puritanism and promiscuity

Genres: Nonfiction, Science, History, Biology, Medicine, Medical, Health

283 pages, Hardcover

First published January 30, 2004

About the author

Librarian Note: There is more than one author by this name in the Goodreads database.

David Clark was born in 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 professor in the Microbiology Department. In 1991 he visited Sheffield University, England as a Royal Society Guest Research Fellow. His research into the genetics and regulation of bacterial fermentation has been funded by the U.S. Department of Energy from 1982 till 2007. He has published over 70 articles in scientific journals and graduated over 20 master's and PhD students. He is unmarried and lives with two cats, Little George, who is orange and Ralph who is mostly black and eats cardboard. He is the author of Molecular Biology Made Simple and Fun, now in its third edition, as well as three more serious textbooks.

Reviews

[Kaethe]

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, and a remark that "The Irish suffered most because they had become almost totally dependent on the potato alone" which ignores the role of the ruling British entirely.

So, I think the medical/scientific material is strong, but poorly presented and bogged down in a mire of bad sociological assumptions.

[Robin · Rating 2 out of 5]

http://historicalreadings.blogspot.co...

This is very informative but I took issue with certain passages such as this:

“The great age of hygiene lasted from roughly 1850 to 1950. The front-line troops in the battle for cleanliness were mostly women. Since the 1950s, women have gradually abandoned the home and ventured forth to find external employment. Hygiene standards in the home have inevitably relaxed. Houses are cleaned less often, laundry is done less often, and both are done less thoroughly. Despite the outbreaks in fast-food restaurants that hit the headlines, most foodborne disease actually occurs in the home and goes unreported.”

I felt like the author was trying to say that women who work full time are putting their families health and hygiene at risk. It was suggestive that a woman’s place is in the home, cooking and cleaning. There was no evidence or stats supplied to support this theory that homes today are less hygienic than 60+ years ago or that even if they are, food poisoning is a direct result of it. Indeed, the author does at least admit that most foodborne diseases go unreported but this means there is no evidence to support his ridiculous claims.

Despite being full of useful information, passages like this unfortunately cause me to question the respectability and intent of the book as a whole. Fortunately, I did not pay anything for it - it was a Kindle freebie once upon a time.

[Brenda · Rating 3 out of 5]

This was pretty interesting, but, even though I'm not a big reader of footnotes, I would have liked for the author to have cited sources for the information he presented as fact.

[Robert · Rating 4 out of 5]

Review of “Germs, Genes and Civilization” by David P. Clark available from Amazon.

David has prepared an exhaustive study of the impact of disease on society and culture. He has provided clear and verifiable answers to many mysteries which have confounded historians and scientists in other disciplines. One of my favorites of these answers is an explanation for Attila the Hun's sudden decision not to attack Rome when it appeared he could easily have taken it.

Detailed discussions of the impact of epidemics throughout history offer proof that the hypothesis set out in “War of the Worlds” is real. Disease and pestilence may have fended off more attacking armies than brilliant military strategies. The science is good, but it is not often so technical that the average person can not understand it. I was a science major forty years ago, but I had no trouble following all the major concepts.

Most of us think of evolution in terms of millennial spans of time. As David points out, diseases evolve in as little as a few generations. Those who doubt the science of evolution and point to “missing links” and gaps in the fossil record, need to read this book. Germs evolve quickly. Small organisms change much faster in response to environmental pressure than large ones do.

As this book points out over and over, ignorance is not bliss. Ignorance is hazardous not only to your health, but to the health of everyone around you. Ignorance and mis-information are tools used by the powerful against the powerless. Education, sanitary conditions and proper hygiene are a population's best defenses against those that would seek to do them ill.

Ignore this book at your peril.

[Frances · Rating 5 out of 5]

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 favorite passages:
"Mother Nature has no maternal instincts."
"We are the children of pestilence, held together by genetic jury-rigging."
"According to the Byzantine chronicler Procopius, the Franks succumbed to the Italian secret weapons: dysentery and diarrhea."
and my personal favorite:
"Cannibalism undeniably shortens your life expectancy if you are on the menu."

I highly recommend this book to all my Health Promotion and Public Health friends or anyone interested in these subjects.

[Kathryn · Rating 2 out of 5]

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 shallow (YMMV; I am a biomedical engineer, and I like lots and lots and lots of biology).

The book did have a lot of interesting nuggets of information, though. I'd like to see what a better writer could have done with the material.

[Donna · Rating 2 out of 5]

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.

[Doreen · Rating 4 out of 5]

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.

[Book · Rating 1 out of 5]

I should have listened to the other reviewers and not even started this book, as it was a complete waste of time. I got to p.21, when I read a paragraph with so many unrelated sentences and implausible connections, that even after reading it FIVE times, it still made no sense.
Just goes to show that just because you're smart and can write, doesn't mean you should publish a book. This scientist should stick to scientific journals, and leave books to the story-tellers.

[Youssef Mahmoud · Rating 3 out of 5]

Reading the book in the middle of a once-in-a-century pandemic certainly made it a more interesting reading.

The book gives an in-depth look into some aspects of how our collective history was shaped by diseases. Other equally-important aspects were left pretty much untouched! Repetition made the book boring and wasted an opportunity to fully cover the topic.

I, with my Molecular Biology background, found the scientific content lacking, I was expecting (and wanted) more biology details!

[Julie · Rating 4 out of 5]

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.

[Atila Iamarino · Rating 4 out of 5]

Ótima perspectiva sobre como nossos genes foram moldados por várias epidemias e como as dinâmicas populacionais antigas batem com o ciclo de surtos epidêmicos. Grandes cidades cheias de gente que fica doente e repovoadas pelos sobreviventes, que depois podem se defender de atacantes justamente com esses patógenos. O que explica muitos dos eventos de primogênitos mortos e povos punidos por deuses.

[Eugene Segan · Rating 5 out of 5]

Автор очень опрятно рассматривает вопросы, не выходя из поля компетенции. Прекрасная подача увлекает, и влюбляет в научный образ мысли. Не сложно, но комплексно. Для неспециалиста много нового и интересного. Не смог найти ее в электронном виде, послушал аудиоверсию, а потом купил в бумаге. Класс!

[Julian Hattem · Rating 3 out of 5]

I was hoping this would be a history of the human world explained by public health. It's only partly that, and instead is more of a generalized introduction to public health/epidemiology with occasional reference to historical events and improvements in medical/sanitation technology.

Very readable and a good introduction to the subject, but somewhat elementary so not advised for people with more background in the area.

Marked down a bit because it's very Western-centric with only passing reference to other parts of the world, and because much of Clark's language hints a bit towards problematic and reductive race science. There are repeated references to "white people are X and black people are Y" when discussing genetic predispositions/immunities, which blurs the point. There are also a few offhand disparaging mentions of "political correctness" which he uses as an obnoxious boomer shorthand for recognition of a complex, robust and critical analysis of human power and violence throughout history.

[G Eliya · Rating 2 out of 5]

Well, what can I say. Informative from the microbiological point of view yes, but have some problems:

1. The author has a big love to Islam and points everywhere how great it is, which isn't bad, but he goes against some historical facts. First of all it isn't the first monotheistic religion. Second, he didn't take time to study a little bit more about it and people, who follow it, so his view based on some clichés, that are common in the western world.

2. Author use to blame women, that they left their houses so hygienic level fell down.

So generally said I have a strange feeling from reading it.

[Frank · Rating 3 out of 5]

Although starting off a bit on the light side, GG&C turns out to include quite a lot of novel information. While covering the basics of disease biology, the focus remains on the sociological effects of disease, for instance, its influence on religion, technology and customs.

With the very recent advances in medicine and hygiene, many human adaptations adopted in past centuries and millenia are no longer as relevant, and some may appear pointless and bizarre. Understanding the medical challenges of the past is thus helpful in comprehending why society functions as it does today.

[Natalia · Rating 3 out of 5]

Нудновато как для научпопа, несколько уже устаревшая информация, но тем не менее довольно интересное чтение.
Нудноватость, в основном, выражается в часто повторяющихся, практически идентично высказанных кусочков текста. От фразы до поч небольшого абзаца.
Создается впечатление, что автор ну уж очень сильно разжевывает свои мысли в книге.

[George Hong]

this would have been helpful earlier in the covid pandemic. a novel virus may or may not be virulent. the example given is Lassa fever. before the virulent form appeared there was a milder version. people assumed they had malaria. only testing later identified the previous version of Lassa.

[Inga Bazinga · Rating 3 out of 5]

Started way before pandemic but only finishing it now.
To put it simply, there are some good stuff and interesting information but too much repetition makes it a tedious read. Should have been a much shorter book, imho.

[Wendy Richardson · Rating 3 out of 5]

The problem with this book is that it is difficult to get a sense of what is backed by science/history and what is completely conjecture. I did not see any works cited and the conclusions can be quite absurd.

[Beth Medvedev · Rating 3 out of 5]

Really fascinating subject matter that made me think. It wasn’t the most academic book I’ve ever read and was repetitive at times.

[Rama Rao · Rating 5 out of 5]

The role of viruses, bacteria and infectious diseases on human evolution

This is an excellent review of various infectious diseases that have shaped the history of human beings. Many cultures and the whole populations were impacted from the very beginning of our civilization or perhaps when Homo sapiens set foot on this planet. The author gives specific examples in our history and describes how diseases have played a role in the eventual determination of who we are today. One could see disease-caused human fatality as a tragedy to an individual or a family but it has long term advantage in evolution, if we apply Darwinism to human diseases. Genetic changes as a response to infectious disease makes us more resistant to infections. Such changes may also contribute to our physical characteristics, brain functions and development. The book is described in 11 chapters that include separate chapters on spread of virulent forms of bacteria and genetic resistance, origin of human disease, the decline of water supply and sewers that caused the fall of kingdoms and empires, pestilence and warfare, and emerging diseases of the future.

Many human diseases originated from animals, but not all bacteria are bad for health. The human gut provides a home for great number of bacteria. Majority of them are harmless and some are beneficial by aiding digestion, synthesis of certain vitamins, defending their habitat against more infectious forms of bacteria. Diseases like gonorrhea and syphilis (caused by bacteria), and measles, mumps, influenza (caused by viruses), and Ebola virus have evolved to become milder. Some diseases became extinct like the sweating sickness that erupted in London in 1845.

The author describes many historical facts hat makes the book even more interesting. The demise of Indus valley civilization around 1800 B.C., virtually without a trace is a great mystery and subjected many interpretations. One of them is the Aryan invasion from Europe. But the author suggests that cholera is more likely cause of human fatalities in Indus Valley. The diarrhea causing bacteria existed in India 3000 B.C to 2000 B.C., but they were present in non-virulent form, but gradually evolved into highly infectious form when drought hit the urban areas of the Harappa and Mohenjo-Daro. The local rivers were completely dried and the sewer system collapsed that may have led the spread of infections faster. This is certainly an interesting theory but genetic archeology has to answer these questions conclusively. The author also suggests that spread of malaria may be one of the main factors in the collapse of Roman Empire. After this, a decline in hygiene all over Europe resulted in the spread of diseases like typhoid, bacterial dysentery, and rotavirus all of which share diarrhea like symptoms that were spread by the contamination of water with sewer system. Early in the fifth century the Huns, led by Attila almost conquered the Roman Empire but withdrew because he and his army were apparently infected by virulent epidemic of dysentery. If this barbarian had succeeded in Rome, the history of Europe would have been different.

Cystic fibrosis mutation is common in north-western Europe, population genetics and mutation rates suggest that these mutations arose shortly after the collapse of Roman Empire when general hygiene was poor and water borne intestinal disease spread rapidly.

The history of smallpox is interesting in that the mortality rates in Asia and Europe dropped from 75% to about 20% over one thousand years illustrating that the development of genetic resistance. In 737 AD, a smallpox epidemic in Japan caused significant deaths. Measles was the Great Plague of Athens in 430 B.C. It is interesting to note that the history of humans would have been different if infectious diseases had not been present or if genetics resistance to virulence did not exist. Culturally and biologically we would have been different.

[Michael Atkinson · Rating 3 out of 5]

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 & non-cohesive (it felt like dozens of small essays about similar & repeated topics strung together); felt anti-religion (get some respect for a good chunk of the audience putting food on your table ... they're smarter than you think); and there seemed to be the feeling of a cold lack of compassion for lives lost from disease, like the detached scientist talking about numbers.

Because of his mastery of the material and obvious research, this book could have been so much more! I can't help but wonder if much of this could have been accomplished by an amazing editor. A great idea would be to totally restructure the book as a "history" of the world and humanity, so readers are taken thru a journey of how germs and disease shaped up over the centuries. Even some infographic-style illustrations - a more micro one and one for each chapter or epoch - would have helped. As it is, it was sort of tons and tons of pieces that felt thrown together and gave you the feeling of "been here" before over and over.

A great review that mirrors how I felt is here:


http://www.goodreads.com/review/show/... :

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 shallow (YMMV; I am a biomedical engineer, and I like lots and lots and lots of biology).

The book did have a lot of interesting nuggets of information, though. I'd like to see what a better writer could have done with the material.

[Bill Holmes · Rating 5 out of 5]

"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 without children, while the lucky ones with some degree of immunity passed their genetic good fortune on to future generations, thus increasing widespread resistance to the disease over the centuries. On the other side of the table, pathogens tended gradually to become less deadly: those that promptly killed their hosts didn't spread far and soon burned out. The surviving pathogens tended to be those that made the human host sick but not so sick that he or she didn't survive for awhile to spread the disease. The defenses that our bodies have evolved sometime become problems on their own--the genes that offer some protection from malaria can cause sickle-cell anemia, and those that confer protection from deadly diarrheal diseases can result in cystic fibrosis.

The second kind of shaping occurs on a macro level. The Black Death that ravaged Western Europe beginning around 1350 laid the groundwork for the Reformation, the Enlightenment and capitalism, albeit at a horrific cost in human life. Columbus' "discovery" of the New World brought syphilis and possibly typhus to the Old World, but the exchange was catastrophically uneven: Old World diseases wiped out 95% of the per-Columbian America's population, making the New World relatively easy to conquer while at the same time creating a huge demand for imported labor. That, in turn, led to the growth of the African slave trade. Even today, the spread of AIDs in Africa is creating fertile ground for the expansion of a puritanical version of Islam.

Clark is a bit dry at times, but his explanations are clear and his book is filled with surprising revelations. It's sobering to realize that the Humble Microbe has had far more influence on the course of human history than any Great Man or Woman.

[Michelle · Rating 3 out of 5]

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 that I personally didn't know and to see how these small miniscule things caused such huge impacts on human history is really cool, and very eye opening. One of my favorite quotes from this is : "Mother Nature has no maternal instincts." I thought that was pretty genius.

I thought the writing was good and while at times it's pretty text book like, there are moments where that kind of breaks and becomes slightly informal. But it's not terribly distracting. Some parts were fairly repetitive though and made the book seem a lot longer then it actually is and it drags, and other areas the author seem to be almost criticizing someone or something. Other then those instances it was pretty straightforward with interesting instances where disease has actually helped us in the overall outlook despite the devastation it caused at the time. It might take some time to get through though, it wasn't something that I could sit down and read for hours. I had to take breaks and read other things, so it took me weeks to get through the whole thing.

I would recommend this to those who really enjoy non-fiction based around science and history, especially you enjoy reading about microbiology, diseases and things of that nature.

[Trisha · Rating 2 out of 5]

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 boggling. Perhaps it was written as more of a text book and the chapters coincide with lesson plans. However as a read from start to finish it is near impossible to connect together. I feel the author may have known this issue existed because he often references earlier chapters of the book along with a link to those chapters(on kindle). To give you an idea, about 70% of the way through the book I accidentally touched a link to a previous chapter without realizing I had done so. I read for almost half an hour in a chapter that was approx 43% into the book. I did not realize I had switched locations until I saw the percentage on my Kindle.
In summation, although the information presented in the book was interesting, the layout and repetition made it difficult to read and connect. If the book was reorganized (and thus repetition unneeded) I would consider recommending it. As it stands, save yourself the agony.

[Steven Peterson · Rating 4 out of 5]

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 disease was not as prevalent, they often fell prey to disease and were unable to complete their conquest of Rome.

The central theme of his book (Page 11): "Human typically labor under the illusion that they control their own destiny. Howeever, I argue in this book that infectious disease has had a massive unrecognized effect on human history and culture."

A good, solid work that provides many examples of the linkages among genes, germs, and civilization.

[✿Claire✿ · Rating 4 out of 5]

This was an interesting book, looking at the effect of infections on civilisation and our genetic background. Discussing a multitude of plagues, both epidemic and pandemic, throughout history the author gave some novel (at least to me) views on the effect of them including the effect on the Black Death on technological advances and that of diseases on religious belief through the ages. The author also looked at the effect of disease on armies, invasions and war.

I have to admit, I disagreed with some of the things in the book. Some of the author's views seemed a little too high and mighty for my taste. Also, the comments on Ebola in particular, although written in 2009 so before the current outbreak, were laughable as he seemed to feel there would be little chance of Ebolavirus becoming a serious threat.

Still a good read and definitely recommended if you are interested in the subject, although an open mind is needed as with so many of these 'pop science' books.

★★★★☆ 4 stars

[Kamas Kirian · Rating 5 out of 5]

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 longer than some of the sub-chapters. I would recommend this book to anyone who has an interest history, anthropology or sociology as well as those who are interested in biology (specifically diseases).

The eBook was formatted fine with no obvious errors.

[Mickey Schulz · Rating 3 out of 5]

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 around, or how they altered. It was also very instructional on the evolution of diseases, and how most diseases actually decrease in virulence as they evolve, in order to be able to spread further and better.