Readers > Everybody Reads > 2010 > Further Reading and Viewing > Nonfiction
Nonfiction
American Plagues: Lessons from Our Battles with Disease by Stephen H. Gehlbach-
Gehlbach chronicles the most important epidemics in U.S. history, explaining how disease spreads and the role of medicine and public health in combating it.
And the Band Played On: Politics, People, and the AIDS Epidemic by Randy Shilts-
This examination of the AIDS epidemic critiques the federal government for its inaction, health authorities for their greed, and scientists for their desire for prestige in the face of a crisis.
Beasts of the Earth: Animals, Humans, and Disease by E. Fuller Torrey and Robert H. Yolken -
Animals are carriers of harmful infectious agents and the source of a myriad of human diseases such as West Nile virus and bird flu; the authors examine these challenges to human health.
The Demon Under the Microscope: From Battlefield Hospitals to Nazi Labs, One Doctor's Heroic Search for the World's First Miracle Drug by Thomas Hager-
In addition to conquering diseases, changing laws, and launching the era of antibiotics, sulfa (the first antibiotic) also transformed the way doctors treated patients and ushered in the era of modern medicine.
Diseases and Human Evolution by Ethne Barnes-
Using information from history, medicine and anthropology, Barnes focuses on changes in the patterns of human behavior through cultural evolution and how they have affected the development of human diseases.
Epidemiology Kept Simple: An Introduction to Traditional and Modern Epidemiology by B. Burt Gerstman-
Highlighting key concepts, this clear and concise text provides readers with the tools to interpret epidemiological data and understand disease concepts.
Flu: The Story of the Great Influenza Pandemic of 1918 and the Search for the Virus that Caused It by Gina Kolata-
In 1918 the Great Flu Epidemic killed an estimated 40 million people virtually overnight. If such a plague returned today, 1.5 million Americans would die. Flu considers the prospects of a great epidemic's recurrence and how to prevent it.
Guns, Germs, and Steel: The Fates of Human Societies by Jared Diamond-
Diamond explores the theory that the peoples of certain continents succeeded because of differences among their environments, not because of biological differences among the peoples themselves.
Pathologies of Power: Health, Human Rights, and the New War on the Poor by Paul Farmer-
A physician and anthropologist with 20 years of experience working in Haiti, Peru, and Russia, Farmer argues that the same social forces that give rise to epidemic diseases also sculpt risk for human rights violations.
Resistance: The Human Struggle Against Infection by Norbert Gualde-
A North Carolina woman dies of a flesh-eating bacterial disease. Thousands of people in West Africa are suffering from cholera. Antibiotics are rapidly becoming less and less effective at fighting what were once mild infections. The biggest threat to the future of human society may not be terrorist attacks or nuclear war, but rather microscopic bacteria.
Rx for Survival: Why We Must Rise to the Global Health Challenge by Philip J. Hilts-
Hilts argues that the world's leading nations now have the means to win the fight against "the coming plague" — but they must act quickly or face grave consequences.
The Secret Epidemic: The Story of AIDS and Black America by Jacob Levenson-
Half the people in the United States who are diagnosed with HIV now are African American. Personal stories are interwoven with national policy explaining this devastating epidemic and illuminating our understanding of race in America.
The Speckled Monster: A Historical Tale of Battling Smallpox by Jennifer Lee Carrell-
After barely surviving the agony of smallpox themselves, two parents borrow folk knowledge from African slaves and Eastern women in frantic bids to protect their children. The result: the modern science of immunology and the smallpox vaccination.
Stories in the Time of Cholera: Racial Profiling During a Medical Nightmare by Charles L. Briggs with Clara Mantini-Briggs-
Cholera, although it can kill an adult through dehydration in half a day, is easily treated. Yet in 1992–93, some 500 died from cholera in the Orinoco Delta of eastern Venezuela. Why did so many die near the end of the 20th century from a bacterial infection associated with the premodern past?
The Strange Case of the Broad Street Pump: John Snow and the Mystery of Cholera by Sandra Hempel-
This is the story of John Snow, a reclusive doctor without money or social position, who — alone and unrecognized — had the genius to look beyond the conventional wisdom of his day and uncover the truth behind the pandemic.
Timebomb: The Global Epidemic of Multi-Drug-Resistant Tuberculosis by Lee B. Reichman with Janice Hopkins Tanne-
A disease supposedly defeated by antibiotics half a century ago, TB has returned: Multi-drug resistant TB is predicted to cause 30 million deaths over the next decade — and you get it simply by breathing.
Typhoid Mary: An Urban Historical by Anthony Bourdain-
There has been an outbreak of typhoid fever in every household cook Mary Mallon has worked in over the past decade. Mary is a "carrier," a seemingly healthy individual who passes on her dangerous germs, sometimes with fatal consequences. In this fascinating true story of an unintentional murderer, Bourdain follows Mary through the kitchens of New York.
