{"product_id":"ending-epidemics-isbn-9780262047968","title":"Ending Epidemics","description":"\u003cb\u003eHow scientists saved humanity from the deadliest infectious diseases—and what we can do to prepare ourselves for future epidemics.\u003c\/b\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003eAfter the unprecedented events of the COVID-19 pandemic, it may be hard to imagine a time not so long ago when deadly diseases were a routine part of life. It is harder still to fathom that the best medical thinking at that time blamed these diseases on noxious miasmas, bodily humors, and divine dyspepsia. This all began to change on a day in April 1676, when a little-known Dutch merchant described bacteria for the first time. Beginning on that day in Delft and ending on the day in 1978 when the smallpox virus claimed its last known victim, Ending Epidemics explains how we came to understand and prevent many of our worst infectious diseases—and double average life expectancy.\u003cbr\u003e \u003cbr\u003eEnding Epidemics tells the story behind “the mortality revolution,” the dramatic transformation not just in our longevity, but in the character of childhood, family life, and human society. Richard Conniff recounts the moments of inspiration and innovation, decades of dogged persistence, and, of course, periods of terrible suffering that stir individuals, institutions, and governments to act in the name of public health. Stars of medical science feature in this drama, but lesser-known figures also play a critical role. And while the history of germ theory is central to this story, Ending Epidemics also describes the importance of everything from sanitation improvements and the discovery of antibiotics to the development of the microscope and the syringe—technologies we now take for granted.Preface: The Healing ix\u003cbr\u003e1 What the Draper Saw 1\u003cbr\u003e2 Deadly Preconceptions 11\u003cbr\u003e3 Foreign Bodies 17\u003cbr\u003e4 Precursors 25\u003cbr\u003e5 Ridiculous Diseases, Inconceivable Ideas 31\u003cbr\u003e6 Buying the Pox 39\u003cbr\u003e7 Slaying the Speckled Monster 51\u003cbr\u003e8 An Angel's Trumpet 59\u003cbr\u003e9 The Great Sanitary Awakening 69\u003cbr\u003e10 Finding Pathogens 81\u003cbr\u003e11 The Semmelweis Reflex 89\u003cbr\u003e12 Making Sense of Cholera 99\u003cbr\u003e13 The Broad Street Pump 109\u003cbr\u003e14 Louis Pasteur: The Rising 119\u003cbr\u003e15 The Subtle Foe 131\u003cbr\u003e16 The Mystery of the Cursed Meadows 137\u003cbr\u003e17 A New Vaccine 145\u003cbr\u003e18 The Bible of Bacteriology 155\u003cbr\u003e19 Defining the Indefinable Something 161\u003cbr\u003e20 (Re)discovering Cholera 171\u003cbr\u003e21 A Sacred Delirium 179\u003cbr\u003e22 Immunity and the Strangling Angel 191\u003cbr\u003e23 Deadly Carriers 205\u003cbr\u003e24 The Beast in the Mosquito 213\u003cbr\u003e25 Fit for Duty 223\u003cbr\u003e26 A Pathogen too Far 233\u003cbr\u003e27 Midnight Work 239\u003cbr\u003e28 The Antibacterial Revolution 249\u003cbr\u003e29 Penicillin 257\u003cbr\u003e30 Race to the Vaccine 271\u003cbr\u003e31 Zero Pox 289\u003cbr\u003eEpilogue: The Plague Next Time 305\u003cbr\u003eAcknowledgments 311\u003cbr\u003eNotes 313\u003cbr\u003eIndex 341\u003cb\u003e \u003c\/b\u003e\"[A] highly readable history of epidemic diseases and vaccinologists, from the first description of bacteria in 1676 to the eradication of smallpox in 1978.\u003cb\u003e\"\u003cbr\u003e—\u003ci\u003eNature\u003c\/i\u003e\u003c\/b\u003e \u003cbr\u003e \u003cbr\u003e“Conniff gives us the development of immunology and antibiotics —famously the work of Louis Pasteur, Alexander Fleming, Robert Koch and Paul Ehrlich—in easy-to-swallow chunks.”\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003e—\u003ci\u003eTLS\u003c\/i\u003e\u003c\/b\u003e“A dramatic, page-turning account of the grim, never-ending war waged by infections on humankind. And how we fought back, sometimes successfully, sometimes not.”\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003e—Paul A. Offit, Professor of Pediatrics, Children’s Hospital of Philadelphia; author of \u003ci\u003eYou Bet Your Life: From Blood Transfusions to Mass Vaccinations, the Long and Risky History of Medical Innovation\u003c\/i\u003e\u003c\/b\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e“A taut interrogation of the centuries of labor that protected us from pathogens, a bitter lament for how quickly we abandoned our awareness of risk, and a stirring call for a new generation of disease fighters to take up the battle. \u003ci\u003eEnding Epidemics\u003c\/i\u003e drives home the post-COVID lesson of the peril of complacency.”\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003e—Maryn McKenna, author of \u003ci\u003eBig Chicken\u003c\/i\u003e,\u003ci\u003e Superbug\u003c\/i\u003e, and \u003ci\u003eBeating Back the Devil\u003c\/i\u003e; Senior Fellow, Center for the Study of Human Health, Emory University\u003c\/b\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003e \u003c\/b\u003e\u003cbr\u003e“\u003ci\u003eEnding Epidemics\u003c\/i\u003e is an important book, deeply and lovingly researched, written with precision and elegance, a sweeping story of centuries of human battle with infectious disease. Conniff is a brilliant historian with a jeweler’s eye for detail. I think the book is a masterpiece.”\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003e—Richard Preston, author of \u003ci\u003eThe Hot Zone\u003c\/i\u003e and \u003ci\u003eThe Demon in the Freezer\u003c\/i\u003e\u003c\/b\u003e\u003cbr\u003e \u003cbr\u003e“A timely and highly readable account of humanity’s struggles and progress in the fight against infectious disease. Set across three centuries, from the birth of immunology to the antibiotic revolution, Conniff draws on the personal stories behind these great medical and scientific leaps. A fascinating read with powerful lessons for tackling today’s—and indeed future—epidemics.”\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003e—Peter Piot, Former Director and Handa Professor of Global Health, London School of Hygiene \u0026amp; Tropical Medicine; author of \u003ci\u003eNo Time to Lose\u003c\/i\u003e and \u003ci\u003eAIDS: Between Science and Politics\u003c\/i\u003e\u003c\/b\u003eRichard Conniff is a National Magazine Award-winning writer for \u003ci\u003eSmithsonian \u003c\/i\u003emagazine, \u003ci\u003eThe Atlantic\u003c\/i\u003e, \u003ci\u003eNational Geographic\u003c\/i\u003e, and other publications, and a past Guggenheim Fellow. Among his many books are \u003ci\u003eThe Species Seekers: Heroes, Fools, and the Mad Pursuit of Life on Earth\u003c\/i\u003e; \u003ci\u003eSwimming with Piranhas at Feeding Time: My Life Doing Dumb Stuff with Animals\u003c\/i\u003e; \u003ci\u003eThe Natural History of the Rich: A Field Guide\u003c\/i\u003e; and, most recently, \u003ci\u003eHouse of Lost Worlds: Dinosaurs, Dynasties, and the Story of Life on Earth\u003c\/i\u003e. Conniff has been a commentator on NPR's \u003ci\u003eMarketplace \u003c\/i\u003eand a contributing opinion writer for the \u003ci\u003eNew York Times\u003c\/i\u003e.","brand":"The MIT Press","offers":[{"title":"Default Title","offer_id":46300753527013,"sku":"NP9780262047968","price":34.95,"currency_code":"USD","in_stock":false}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/1842\/7735\/files\/9780262047968.jpg?v=1767726271","url":"https:\/\/k12savings.com\/es\/products\/ending-epidemics-isbn-9780262047968","provider":"K12savings","version":"1.0","type":"link"}