Deadly Companions
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Ever since we started huddling together in caves, the story of human history has been inextricably wed to the story of microbes. Bacteria and viruses have evolved and spread among us, shaping our society even as our changing human culture has shaped their evolutionary path.Combining tales of devastating epidemics with accessible science and fascinating history, Deadly Companions reveals how closely microbes have evolved with us over the millennia, shaping human civilization through infection, disease, and deadly pandemic. Beginning with a dramatic account of the SARS pandemic at the start of the 21st century, Dorothy Crawford takes us back in time to follow the interlinked history of microbes and humanity, offering an up-to-date look at ancient plagues and epidemics, and identifying key changes in the way humans have lived--such as our move from hunter-gatherer to farmer to city-dweller--which made us ever more vulnerable to microbe attack.
Showing that how we live our lives today--with increased crowding and air travel--puts us once again at risk, Crawford asks whether we might ever conquer microbes completely, and whether we need a more microbe-centric view of the world. Among the possible answers, one thing becomes clear: that for generations to come, our deadly companions will continue to influence our lives.
Features
- A fascinating insight into human cultural history, and how closely it has been influenced at every step by microbes, our deadly companions.
- Explains the biology and life-stories of microbes such as smallpox, flu, malaria, HIV, and MRSA, and why they have evolved to be so effective.
- Includes stories of devastation wrought by epidemics and pandemics, and examines controversies over the real cause of the black death.
- Reveals how microbes may have forced the exodus of early man from Africa.
Reviews
"A quick read that tantalizes and overwhelms the reader with the technical information included."--Choice
Highlighted in Science News, Vol. 173
"Crawford suggests that when it comes to microbes, despite our scientific knowledge, we are not better-off than our ancestors."-- Science News in the "new and notable books of scientific interest" section.
Product Details
256 pages; 25 b/w line drawings & halftones; 5-1/2 x 8-1/2; ISBN13: 978-0-19-280719-9ISBN10: 0-19-280719-6About the Author(s)
Dorothy Crawford is Professor of Medical Microbiology at the University of Edinburgh, where she is also Assistant Principal for the Public Understanding of Medicine. Her previous publications include The Invisible Enemy: A Natural History of Viruses. She is a Fellow of the Royal Society of Edinburgh and a Fellow of the Academy of Medical Sciences, and was awarded an OBE in 2005 for services to medicine and higher education.
