Product Description

A noted medical historian places recent outbreaks of deadly diseases in historical perspective, with accounts of other alarming and recurring diseases throughout history and of the ways in which humans have adapted. Reprint. 17,500 first printing.

Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #213633 in Books
• Published on: 1996-05-22
• Original language: English
• Number of items: 1
• Binding: Paperback
• 272 pages

Amazon.com Review
Whereas many popular books on microbes focus on contemporary pathogens and emerging epidemics, Arno Karlen's Man and Microbes provides a historical look at the coevolution of humans and microorganisms. Karlen speculates that infections are integral to the process of life itself, that the mitochondria in every animal cell, for instance, are likely descendants of infectious agents. He then traces the development of man from primitive hunter-gatherer to urban dweller to world traveler, pointedly analyzing how socio-ecological changes have contributed to the changing incidence of disease. With amazing detail, Karlen describes the origins of historical plagues (smallpox, cholera, influenza, polio, and others) as well as the emergence of scourges such as hemorrhagic fever (Ebola and its cousins), Lyme disease, Legionnaires' disease, and even the deep mysteries of retroviruses such as HIV.

From Publishers Weekly
Karlen (Napoleon's Glands) has produced a disturbing, succinct, compelling report on the current global crisis of new and resurgent diseases. Covering 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. In the book's first half, he entertainingly charts humanity's relationship with microbes, from the earliest hominids' probable encounters with bubonic plague to hunter-gatherers' comparative good health, the explosion of sickness in Bronze Age cities and the spread of infections with trade, conquest and empire. Karlen concludes that today's epidemics are part of an ancient pattern-whenever people make radical changes in their lifestyle and environment, disease flourishes. He suggests that improved surveillance could help defuse the crisis we face now.
Copyright 1995 Reed Business Information, Inc.

From School Library Journal
YA?A very readable history of communicable diseases. Karlen thinks that, because Americans have been living in a dream world regarding the possibilities of wide-spread illness, our public health will almost inevitably be severely tested. The chapter on AIDS and other STDs, their mutations, increases, and increasing frequency alone gives one pause. For a book in which plagues and epidemics are featured in chronological order, the author does an excellent job of breaking up the recitation by placing them in the context of their times; for instance, the plague of Justinian, which began in the 6th century and lasted over 200 years (cutting the population of Europe in half), opened the way for invasions, virtually ended city life, and led to a long period of recuperation known as the Dark Ages. Only very recently have epidemics and pandemics ceased to be major players in the historical movements of the world's great civilizations. Karlen's explanation of their important role in history adds breadth to readers' knowledge of the past. An excellent research source.?Judy McAloon, Potomac Library, Prince William Public Library System VA
Copyright 1996 Reed Business Information, Inc.

Customer Reviews

Man and Microbes review
I enjoyed reading this book. It was well written. The author made it so interesting and educational that even if there are no colored pictures in it on every page, I still read the whole thing without getting bored.
I know it was written in 1995 thus some of the information is somewhat outdated, but the historical content is still the same. Much of it's value is historical documentation of the great plagues of the world through the centuries.
I highly recommend this book as a reference for folks who are taking Microbiology classes.

MGH from Kodiak

Recommended Read
Karlen's "Man and Microbes" is a good read, especially for the novice biology reader. I think everyone interested in the subjects of microbiology, medical history, and evolutionary history would enjoy this book but be aware that you will not get very specific scientific detail, rather a broad overview of history. All around worth the time though.

fascinating, educational, and alarming
"Man and Microbes" is a good title for this book. Over time, man's relationship with microbes has changed as human populations have grown, moved, changed from hunter-gatherer to agricultural life and then city life, and exploration and colonization exposed groups of humans to new environments. As new land is cleared for farming, humans stir up microbes that had previously interacted with other species, such as mice or monkeys. Having never been exposed to a given microbe before, man has not developed any tolerance and the severity of the disease is harsh. Every new human population a disease encounters has to go though this introduction, before the effects become less severe. This is why native American populations were decimated when Europeans came to their continents. The microbes themselves also change over time, becoming more powerful, less powerful, or retreating to their original animal hosts. Since this book attempts to span the history of mankind and our interaction with microbes, there is less detail about specific diseases or time periods than a reader might like. I know I was still left wondering about the specifics of polio after reading the book. But I do feel that I have gained much more insight into disease and how it has affected our history. When we developed vaccines and antibiotics we thought that we had defeated the diseases which had killed so many humans, but the microbes continued to change, just as always, adapting to our new defenses. Human populations continued to grow, expanding to previously unpopulated territory, exposing people already vulnerable though poor diet and hygene to unfamiliar microbes. My view of our war against disease has definitely changed through reading this book.