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Title: Plagues and Peoples by William McNeill ISBN: 0-385-12122-9 Publisher: Anchor Pub. Date: 11 October, 1977 Format: Paperback Volumes: 1 List Price(USD): $14.95 |
Average Customer Rating: 4.19 (32 reviews)
Rating: 5
Summary: Mankind - the Parasite and the Host
Comment: Plagues and Peoples is an informative and very readable summary of the relationship between mankind and disease. The author consistently views disease as a parasite and describes the history of plagues in terms of a parasite interacting with a host population. The parasite and the host interact and, over time, reach an equilibrium within the population that allows the both the parasite and the host to survive.
The most interesting feature of the book is his portrayal of mankind not only as a host, but also as a parasite himself. He uses the term macroparasite to describe human institutions and phenomena that also drain energy and resources from producers. For example, very high taxes or rents, Medieval labor laws and practices, war, and forced migration all drain communities and nations as surely as disease. He provides excellent, while still brief, commentary on the interaction between microparasites and macroparasites and the resultant depopulation of certain areas during certain periods. One might argue that this is not a newly observed correlation, but it has certainly never been explained as clearly and succintly as it is done here.
McNeill covers a range of topics. There is, of course, discussion of the plague and mankinds response to it. There us also commentary on leprosy. Why for example, was leprosy, so common in Western Europe and the Middle East in biblical times, to dissapear in the Middle Ages. ( The answer is not what you think. ) Did syphillis originate in the Americas ? If so it may have been the Aztecs' revenge on the conquistadors. Why are there childhood diseases ?
McNeill's arguements are somtimes intuitive and are, in some cases, based on limited data, especially when he examines the history of disease in Asia and India. However, he is careful to couch his observations in limited terms and clearly points out the limitations of the data. I found this to be a refreshing break from, for example, Guns, Germs and Steel, where the author used very limited data to draw absolute conclusions.
The new introduction ( the book was first publised in 1986 )has an alternate viewpoint on AIDS. He argues that, at the moment, AIDS as an epidemic does not rank among the great killers of mankind such as the plague. He draws some interesting parallels between the current AIDS epidemic and the historical spread of syphillis. I am not sure if I agree with his position, but it was interesting to hear something other than the usual end of the world scenario that often comes out of discussions of AIDS.
Rating: 4
Summary: A very detailed explanation of disease's role in history
Comment: Every high school history student knows that the Black Death swept through Europe, and that diseases like smallbox, measles and so on were decisive in allowing the colonization of the Americas. But these two statements while universally accepted, are generally left at that and the causes go unexplored.
This book is a very concise history of plagues and what built up to these two grim realities. McNeill goes much beyond these basics and provides in intricate details the events that allowed that to happen. What allowed these disease pools to eventually come into being? This book provides the details to the answer to that question from the early days of civilization in Mesopotamia to the effect that plague had on the periphery of the Roman and Chinese empires to the effect that the Mongols had in fully unifying this disease pool, and once a reality, the devasating effect that they had on the world.
In short, if you want to understand in fine detail the causes and events that built up the "eastern hemisphere disease pool", read this book.
Rating: 5
Summary: One of the best
Comment: This is one of a very tiny number of books which I have bought in bulk and distributed to friends and colleagues. Although the prose style can be unnecessarily turgid and academic and will win no prizes, the ideas are so stimulating intellectually that one gradually ceases to notice the style. McNeill's central thesis, both original and plausible, allows one to review the entire history of civilization in a new light and to make testable and almost always correct predictions. Few books have the ability to so change one's view of history. I first read this book many years ago and it has held up well. Read and ponder. It may change your world view.
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Title: Guns, Germs, and Steel: The Fates of Human Societies by Jared Diamond ISBN: 0393317552 Publisher: W.W. Norton & Company Pub. Date: April, 1999 List Price(USD): $16.95 |
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Title: Viruses, Plagues, and History by Michael B. A. Oldstone ISBN: 0195134222 Publisher: Oxford Press Pub. Date: May, 2000 List Price(USD): $16.95 |
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Title: Epidemics and History: Disease, Power and Imperialism by Sheldon Watts ISBN: 0300080875 Publisher: Yale Univ Pr Pub. Date: November, 1999 List Price(USD): $21.00 |
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Title: Epidemic! The World of Infectious Disease by Rob Desalle, American Museum of Natural History ISBN: 1565845463 Publisher: New Press Pub. Date: October, 1999 List Price(USD): $19.95 |
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Title: The Coming Plague: Newly Emerging Diseases in a World Out of Balance by Laurie Garrett ISBN: 0140250913 Publisher: Penguin USA (Paper) Pub. Date: October, 1995 List Price(USD): $15.95 |
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