Product Description

From the ravages of the Ebola virus in Zaire to outbreaks of pneumonic plague in India and drug-resistant TB in New York City, contagious diseases are fighting back against once-unconquerable modern medicine. Public concern about infectious disease is on the rise as newspapers trumpet the arrivals of new germs and the reemergence of old ones.

In A Field Guide to Germs, Pulitzer Prize-winning science writer Wayne Biddle brings readers face to face with nearly one hundred of the best-known (in terms of prevalence, power, historical importance, or even literary interest) of the myriad pathogens that live in and around the human population. Along with physical descriptions of the organisms and the afflictions they cause, the author provides folklore, philosophy, history, and such illustrations as nineteenth century drawings of plague-induced panic, microscopic photographs of HIV and Ebola, and wartime posters warning servicemen against syphilis and gonorrhea.

From cholera to chlamydia, TB to HIV, bubonic plague to Lyme disease, rabies to Congo-Crimean encephalitis, anthrax to Zika fever, and back to good old rhinitis (the common cold), A Field Guide to Germs is both a handy reference work to better understand today's headlines and a fascinating look at the astonishing impact of micro-organisms on social and political history.

Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #175970 in Books
• Published on: 2002-06-25
• Released on: 2002-06-25
• Original language: English
• Dimensions: .1 pounds
• Binding: Paperback
• 240 pages

From Amazon.com
From the title alone, you know it's going to be good. Biddle delves into anthrax and arboviruses, cholera and chlamydia, diphtheria, dengue, and dysentery, and on through the disease-ridden alphabet to Zika fever. Biddle explains in graphic detail the causes, symptoms and treatments for these germs, and it's all jolly good middle-of-the-night reading. You might become somewhat phobic if you read it from cover to cover, but no one will be more scintillating at parties.

From School Library Journal
YA?Historical and scientific information on the various bacteria, viruses, and other unfriendly critters with which humans must cope is presented in an informal, almost humorous manner. From the common rhinoviruses and Chinese restaurant syndrome (msg overdose) to the unusual Q fever or yersinia pestis (bubonic plague), each microorganism is discussed in the same factual, but witty style. Alphabetically arranged, each article varies in length but is generally two-to-four pages. Biddle gives the origin of the scientific words, which helps readers understand the disease itself, and then discusses how it has influenced history and thus today's social attitudes. Although medically accurate, the level of technical difficulty makes this a perfect choice for both browsers and biology researchers. It is too bad the cover is drab and unappealing. Fifty black-and-white photographs of germs under a microscope, posters showing the beliefs of the time, or doctors at work highlight the topics under discussion. The index is vital as the disorders are examined under their more scientific name.?Gary Filmore, W.T. Woodson High School, Fairfax, VA
Copyright 1996 Reed Business Information, Inc.

From Booklist
Looking for a good book on disease? Witty, acerbic, and thorough, Biddle's is "offered in the spirit of first aid, as a bulwark against phobia, and as a reminder that medicine is a social activity." Relaying essential information about the 100 most prevalent, powerful, or literarily famous microbiological malefactors in dictionary-encyclopedia style, Biddle injects social and political history into the exposition to provide fuller understanding of germs, their roles in society, their histories, and their current statuses. Pithy anecdotes abound, as do trivial revelations, such as that the word dysentery was originally a euphemism employed by Hippocrates and that measles was once confused with smallpox. Eminently entertaining, the book yet has the serious purpose of showing how concerns other than science and the relief of human suffering have affected the course of medical history--a purpose arising from the attitude of Biddle's introductory observation, "There will always be the lucky well and the unlucky sick, but the division should never be determined by privilege--intellectual or otherwise." Mike Tribby