Ever since we started huddling together in communities, the story of
human history has been inextricably entwined with the story of microbes.
They have evolved and spread amongst us, shaping our culture through
infection, disease, and pandemic. At the same time, our changing human
culture has itself influenced the evolutionary path of microbes. Dorothy
H. Crawford here shows that one cannot be truly understood without the
other.
Beginning with a dramatic account of the SARS pandemic at the start of
the 21st century, she takes us back in time to follow the interlinked
history of microbes and man, taking an up-to-date look at ancient
plagues and epidemics, and identifying key changes in the way humans
have lived - such as our move from hunter-gatherer to farmer to
city-dweller -- which made us vulnerable to microbe attack.
Showing how we live our lives today -- with increasing crowding and air
travel -- puts us once again at risk, Crawford asks whether we might
ever conquer microbes completely, or whether we need to take a more
microbe-centric view of the world. Among the possible answers, one thing
becomes clear: that for generations to come, our deadly companions will
continue to shape human history.
Oxford Landmark Science books are 'must-read' classics of modern science
writing which have crystallized big ideas, and shaped the way we
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