Main description:

Covers the history of twelve important diseases and addresses public health responses and societal upheavals.

Chronicles the ways disease outbreaks shaped traditions and institutions of Western civilization.
Explains the effects, causes, and outcomes from past epidemics.
Describes a dozen diseases to show how disease control either was achieved or failed.
Makes clear the interrelationship between diseases and history.
Presents material in a compelling, clear, and jargon-free prose for a wide audience.
Provides a picture of the best practices for dealing with disease outbreaks.

This title is published by the American Society of Microbiology Press and distributed by Taylor and Francis in rest of world territories.

Contents:

Table of Contents

1. The Legacy of Disease: Porphyria and Hemophilia

2. The Irish Potato Blight

3. Cholera

4. Smallpox: the Speckled Monster

5. Bubonic Plague

6. Syphilis: the Great Pox

7. Tuberculosis: the People's Plague

8. Malaria

9. Yellow Fever: the Saffron Scourge

10. The Great Influenza

11. AIDS: the 21st Century Plague

Epilogue