Arno Karlen (1937–2010)

Here is a book with an unhelpful title. This is a book about 'biohistory' which is to say, it's about how humans and microbes (for the most part) have interacted over the centuries and millenia since humans started their bipedal experiment. It's a little dated these days, but is still an entertaining read. I particularly enjoyed Karlen's depiction of how disease influenced the outcome of various wars, and how this is ignored by historians in general. Also, he talks extensively about lead poisoning and how it is almost obsessively ignored by historians and medical doctors. I give it:… (more)

This is a bit dated now. The content is pretty interesting although there is not too much depth, as one might expect. Unfortunately, there are some really serious errors included, for example, the author appears completely unaware that there are other RNA viruses apart from retroviruses - when presented with such fundamental lack of understanding of virology, it is difficult to place much faith in the rest of the text. 'Plagues: Their Origins and History' by Christopher Wills covers similar territory but with much more aplomb.… (more)

This is both an entertaining and enlightening history of some of the diseases that have plagued mankind over the centuries. I found the history of what are considered "childhood" diseases particularly interesting. Karlen discusses cholera, leprosy, cancer, AIDS, viral encephalitis, lethal Ebola fever, streptococcal "flesh-eating" infections and a host of other killers. He shows how the present wave of diseases arose with drastic environmental change, wars, acceleration of travel, the breakdown of public health measures, and microbial adaptation. It is a fascinating study and tour through the history of man and the microbes that have changed his life.… (more)