Nightmare Plagues

This series provides some historical information such as Hippocrates’ identification of TB as the most common disease in the world (Tuberculosis), and several spreads in Typhoid on the search for the infamous Mary Mallon. In contrast to Rosen’s “Epidemics and Society,” though, the books focus more on the signs of different epidemic diseases, how they are spread, and methods of treatment, making the volume of information less unwieldy. The writing is accessible and interspersed with interesting photographs and fact boxes. It is trendy at the moment to hype the “yuck” factor, but these books simply rely on an honest discussion of the diseases, which still does the trick. These are effective, easily navigated introductions to the physiology of contagious illnesses.