Plagued

Brilliant look at pandemics from an insider

I loved this book. Dr. Froude writes with a conversational tone while explaining scientific ideas very plainly. He also adds in the occasional priceless gems that I would read multiple times, they were so good. As Dr. Froude is an infectious disease specialist, he brings his own experiences to the story, creating an interesting bond between author and reader. The chapter “Dispatches from Pandemicville: COVID-19” and Froude’s experiences is particularly evocative. I generally skim over the Acknowledgements section of books, but this one I read carefully. The paragraph on nurses is particularly important. Overall, this is a brilliant book that is well worth the read. Thank you to Netgalley and BenBella Books for the advance reader copy.

A good introduction to some of the pandemics that have struck humans, including the SARS CoV 2 pandemic. The author also shares some of his experiences working in a New York hospital during 2020. Thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for an advance copy.

Clearly well researched and considered as well as broad ranging. Couldn't be much more timely. This book does a nice job of explaining how pandemics arise and why as well as looking at some of their historical impact. All this and in highly readable form. An excellent read to put our current travails with COVID-19 in perspective and address some of the misconceptions surrounding it.

A little too niched for putting the entire book into my general curriculum, but I will undoubtedly use some of what I learned and might use some sections. I also have students who do independent projects on this topic and would definitely recommend the book for them.

This book it's about the different pandemics that have occurred in the world over the years, taking a historical, social, and biological approach. Each chapter refers to a disease and, in turn, this is divided into three parts; history, impact, and the causal microorganism: its physiology and in some instances mechanism of action.

First of all, I really liked the beginning, as soon as it started it caught my attention and kept it throughout the book. I am pleased that, although it presented a historical approach to each pandemic, it wasn't the main point, with this, the structure of each chapter made the reading fluid and not boring. I should mention that personally, I don't feel that it's necessary to have a high level of prior knowledge, since, the "complicated" would be the biological/biochemical explanation of the microorganism and I feel that it's explained very clear, but I leave that to the consideration of each person.

It explains the bases of immunology to understand what happens in the body when attacked by microorganisms i.e. Virus and bacteria. Also, it not only focuses on the physiological point of view but how it affects society socially and economically, considering the religious points of view of some people.

I liked that mentions the reality that different races and ethnic groups have suffered from the pandemic, making special mention of the colonization that America suffered and how the colonizers brought different diseases, as well as the racial discrimination that hundreds of Asians have suffered in America for decades due to various pandemics, dating from the Black Death to the present day with Covid-19. It's necessary to talk about how racism, ignorance, poverty, and political greed influence and affect the control of pandemics on a global level.

In the same way, the importance of the use of sterile and new instruments in treatments is discussed, especially the correct development of laboratory techniques. It was interesting to read how humanity was advancing technologically and, with this, acquiring knowledge of a great variety of microorganisms. The experiments carried out, although questionable, are those that helped to understand and study microbes in their day.

Personally, my favorite chapters were those focused on viruses and bacteria, it had a lot of interesting information which I was unaware of, so it was very pleasant to learn something new. I loved the mention of how misinformation greatly affects the course of pandemics, I think this has become very in this age. With this, the author makes mention of the different types of coronavirus and explains in a general way how vaccines work, for people who don't trust them, what is rescued from these chapters is: currently there is a great variety of databases; genes, proteins, research, etc. That helps scientific knowledge to advance even more and, with the help of biotechnological technologies, this task becomes easier and more efficient, in conclusion, get vaccinated.

"Literate educated societies behaved in the 21st century as illiterate uneducated societies did in the 17th. Man, the impossible primate, must understand that compulsions to denial, tribalism, xenophobia, conspiracy theories, and scapegoating in a plague will only increase the number who die."

To finish, I honestly entered without great expectations but it definitely surprised me, I loved it, the book is incredible, it's quite complete, educational, and entertaining, I definitely recommend it.

My thanks to the author John Froude, BenBella Books, and NetGalley for the opportunity to get this ARC for an unbiased review

Thanks to NetGalley, BenBella Books & John Froude, MD for an ARC of this book.

This book is brilliant! I loved it so much, that I’m going to be buying it in paperback, when it is released!

Written in a way that makes it accessible to the general public, Dr. John Froude does an amazing job at describing the biggest pandemics throughout history!

From their suspected origins and the mechanism through which the microorganism acts, to their impact on society and even in genetics!

Quoting the author “This book describes eleven infectious plagues that have scourged mankind and the one through which we are living, COVID-19”.

Along the information, the author gives are tidbits of curious facts that make for an entertaining read, like the origin of Malaria’s name “Bad air circulating from the Pontine Marshes in Italy gave the disease its name, mal’aria-bad air.”

Concerning the Black Death the author had this to say, that I believe it still applies today: “The death of one person is a tragedy. The saying goes on to say, the death of a million is a statistic. It isn’t. It is a million tragedies. We can neither quantify nor encompass the human suffering that is the greater part of each plague. Emperors fell, empires collapsed, armies disintegrated, famine and more war followed. The history of mankind was changed forever because of a bacteria secreted a sticky protein that blocked up the esophagus of a flea.”

And did you know that the placenta could not have evolved without retrovirus? And that our DNA is 50% virus?

It is also both reassuring and depressing that, despite the success of vaccines, there has always been some opposition to their use.

All of this is approached and explained in a way easily accessible to the general audience, making for a fun and informative read!

Will definitely be recommending this to everyone!

“We enter the rain forest where the pathogens live, we live in large cities where we incubate them, and we fly around the world disseminating them.”

“When a plague begins, look for the animals and remember your own animal nature.”

John Froude, an infectious disease specialist, has written this book about various pandemics that have affected humans over the years, and what caused them. The book has 18 chapters, most of which are devoted to information about one specific pathogen. There are chapters about Bubonic plague, cholera, typhus, tuberculosis, syphilis, malaria, smallpox, yellow fever, Spanish flu, HIV, zika/ebola, and of course Covid-19. With each one, Froude tells some interesting stories about the history of the pathogen, and how it affected humanity. He describes the method of infection, how the virus or bacteria operates, and what we eventually did to try to fight against it.

The first chapter starts with an introduction to the immune system. Froude describes the layers of defense in the human body, and how the parts of the immune system work together to fight off invaders, and create antibodies to prevent future infection. He then describes the devastating effect that infectious diseases had on native peoples when European settlers came to their lands. Without the antibodies to protect from infection, various viruses and bacteria decimated indigenous populations for hundreds of years.

The second chapter goes on to discuss bacteria, and the role that bacteria has played in the history of life on Earth. Then Froude goes on to discuss individual plagues throughout history; focusing on a new one in each chapter and describing the cause and history of each.

Overall this book was very educational, and Froude was able to keep the book interesting with a series of dramatic stories, and a bit of a sense of humor. I enjoyed reading this book, and I feel like I learned quite a bit.

This is a very good book describing about the 12 pathogen types that have devastated mankind in the past and present. The author brought us back in time when and where each of these pathogens were discovered, and how it goes on to infect so many people in the world. The author who is a medical doctor also describes his experiences in treating patients infected with some of these pathogens; particularly the SARS-CoV-2. I like the last part where the biology of how

Plague has defined humanity. It win wars. It killed local population. It pushed humans towards periphery. From plague and cholera to new viruses, it has pushed limits of human endurance. Plagues have also taught us how to fight back and reclaim our place in biosphere. A renowned scientist takes us through all the plagues that we have seen and what we can learn from them. A wonderful science book.

I was intrigued and captivated by this book. As a microbiologist with a long time passion for Epidemiology, I love reading books like these. The author does a wonderful job talking about the plagues that have overcome us and how humanity as adapted and learned from these diseases. It is very informational and keeps the readers attention. It is a great read for both scientists and non scientists alike.

I received a free e-ARC from the publisher via NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.

Plagued, by John Froude, is the exact kind of popular science book that I like. I've always found infectious diseases kind of fascinating, and in another life, I would have been a medical researcher. Alas, the best laid plans and all that.

Plagued is a book about pathogens. It is about the science behind them, the effects they have had on human history, and about human's responses to them, including how to treat and prevent them. Twelve of the chapters focus on a specific pathogen: cholera, syphilis, tuberculosis, malaria, typhus, bubonic plague, smallpox, yellow fever, HIV, Spanish flu, zika/ebola, and COVID-19.

I found the writing easy to read, and the exploration of different pathogens absolutely fascinating. I also appreciated how there was a chapter about COVID, although I think that it would be appropriate to include an update in future versions of the book in a few years time.

On the whole, a great read. I look forward to purchasing a copy for myself when it is published.

This is a very interesting book. Some of the viruses are gross.

I received an ARC from the publisher for an honest review.

Informative and intensely readable, Froude writes in a way that is entertaining. I learned a lot that I didn't know about the history of diseases and the way that people have historically responded to them.