As someone with a science background/career I really loved this book! Such an interesting breakdown of key scientific discoveries in a way that is both digestible to the average reader but also detailed enough for those with a pre-existing scientific background to not feel bored. With added fun facts and details that manage to keep the heavy nature of deadly diseases and history from becoming too overbearing throughout the book. I would highly recommend this book to anybody with an interest in epidemics or disease history.

This was so good, I'm almost at a loss for words.

A new history of epidemics and how far humanity has come in fighting these natural nemeses. Not only a detailed and far-reaching record, this text attempts to bring in unwritten, sidelined, and purposefully erased histories and characters. Have you ever heard of Kendrick and Eldering? How about Loney Clinton Gordon? You or your ancestors may owe your lives or livelihood to these women.

The author rightfully casts a critical eye on science and medicine as social practices dominated by power structures as much as being quests for knowledge and serving "man." I was surprised but not really surprised to find out how many Nobel prize winners and vaccine creators (reminded of Salk in particular) were ungracious, self-serving masterclass-level jerks who were in it for the glory, to the extent of pushing others out and taking the credit, time and time again. But I go one step further than the author--why didn't anyone stand up to these men (and they were all men)? Why are they still centred? The Nobel prize in particular strikes me as a deeply flawed way of recognizing achievements, one that seems sexist, racist, and classist to the core.

As much as the author called out this nasty history, this deeply embarrassing and harmful state of affairs that continues to this day, there were undercurrents of sexism that I was dismayed to come across. Why did the author have to characterize Janet Parker as "disturbingly beautiful" while fighting off the smallpox that would soon kill her? I was also not as surprised as the author to find out that many of the women shied away from the spotlight and refused to take credit, preferring to represent their work as a community effort. Women are socialized to do that, DUH! Also, that's a more accurate take on reality! Finally, the author held back too much when it came to calling out injustices, preferring to state this was that and that was this rather than say "that was wrong and should be corrected." There was an especially light hand dealt to anti-vaxxers, who were merely described as existing in certain numbers doing xyz. I'm not sure if the author wrote this way on purpose, perhaps in the hope that future anti-vax readers might be drawn in to the rest of the text, as long as no part caused direct offence. I wish the author had taken a stronger stance.

Altogether, I greatly enjoyed this trek through the record of infectious diseases and the very human story underlying it.

I enjoyed the very timely read. I was hooked from the beginning where the author stated that before Covid we were all a little obsessed with stories and movies about pandemics. I, myself, was guilty of that. Not anymore! Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for this early read.

I loved this book. The book’s main strengths were the conversational tone, great explanations of the science, compelling writing that made the book impossible to put down, and the biographies. In addition, I didn’t find the book preachy or dogmatic and I felt that Richard Conniff gave honest and objective appraisals of the personalities involved. Certainly there was no deification of anyone in the book. If the book had any weaknesses, it was that it ends with the eradication of smallpox. And the only reason this might be a weakness is that I would have loved to have read Conniff’s analysis of later epidemics. In other words, given Conniff’s great writing, I would have been willing to read a longer book. On the other hand, by closing the story at smallpox, Conniff was able to do justice to all the other subjects in the book. Overall this is a great read. Thank you to Netgalley and MIT Press for the digital review copy. .

Nicely done. Basically a scientific history lesson. Well researched and presented in an interesting way, I learned a lot and suspect many others will enjoy this as well. Recommended.

I really appreciate the free ARC for review!!