Gr 6 Up-This revised volume retains all of the involving personal stories of the original (Farrar, 1998), and six out of the seven chapters contain additional, updated material including more recent statistics. The author still focuses on seven dreaded human diseases: smallpox, leprosy, plague, tuberculosis, malaria, cholera, and AIDS. Each chapter provides a description of the physical and psychological effects of the disease on its victims, early theories about its causes, and efforts made to avoid or cure it. Then the methods of research that revealed its cause and developed the means to control its spread are explained in fascinating detail. The new section on smallpox offers eight added pages that discuss the Russian biological weapons development program plus the controversial smallpox vaccination plans following September 11, 2001. Progress in the development and distribution of treatment drugs for AIDS to developing nations is detailed in half a dozen new pages. First-person accounts by sufferers from Hansen's disease (leprosy) and by observers of the plague resemble the drama of a modern reality TV show. The excellent sources listed in the annotated suggestions for further reading and the bibliography in the first edition are joined by four more items. In short, Farrell has taken her outstanding work and made it even better. If every science book for nonspecialists were written with such flair and attention to detail, science would soon become every student's favorite subject.-Ann G. Brouse, Steele Memorial Library, Elmira, NY Copyright 2005 Reed Business Information.
Focusing on seven specific diseases, Farrell, a medical student with considerable experience with her topic, presents a scientist's view of these scourges. The anecdotal style is accessible; the tone, conversational; the whole, informative, with ample documentation to ensure credibility for her presentation. Never pedantic, the book complements and extends James Cross Giblin's When Plague Strikes, which has a similar theme in its analysis of the ways in which such diseases have inflicted social stigmas on the afflicted, increasing their sufferings while inhibiting the search for effective treatment and cure. The copious use of illustrative material, ranging from historical drawings to photographs, gives the book the appearance of a documentary in contrast to Giblin's reliance on narrative interpreted by dramatic woodcuts. Farrell includes diseases such as cholera, leprosy, malaria, and tuberculosis which, despite devastating effects in particular areas and among certain populations, lack the epidemic or pandemic proportions of the other diseases she discusses, Black Death, smallpox, and AIDS, which are also presented by Giblin. Her approach differs from Giblin's because of her particular orientation emphasizing the pathology of the disease as well as its social consequences. The details, while sometimes gruesome, are leavened by an emphasis on the need for research and rational responses rather than uninformed reactions. Nowhere is this better demonstrated than in the chapter on leprosy, a disease feared and abhorred throughout history, causing the afflicted to endure isolation, persecution, and sometimes execution for what was considered an unclean state (see review of Mette Newth's The Dark Light on page 493). That it is difficult to transmit and that laboratory animals, except for the armadillo, are impervious to its ravages, exemplify the selection of illustrative detail found in each chapter. And while many of the mysteries surrounding these diseases may never be fully unraveled, certainly this book will increase understanding by helping the reader "to face the tricks the microbe world has to offer and to discover...the ways of the human spirit."
. . .[U]p-to-date, straightforward essays. . . .The emphasis is historical and clinical: what happened, what still happens and what is done for it. . . .a. . .level well suited to readers 12 years old and up.
As exciting as any work of fiction . . . Filled with fascinating facts, the text is written in a crisp and lucid style that makes the most complex matters understandable.” —School Library Journal, starred review
“[An] absorbing and immensely readable account of humankind’s age-old battle with the mighty microorganisms that have changed history . . . Farrell explains the science vividly and clearly but also spins a good yarn, peppering her accounts with enticingly bizarre or creepy tidbits . . . Farrell’s sense of drama and habit of crediting some of the unsung (and often involuntary) heroes of medical history gives her approach a fresh and involving slant.” —The Bulletin, 1998 edition, starred review
“The anecdotal style is accessible; the tone, conversational; the whole, informative, with ample documentation to ensure credibility for her presentation.” —Horn Book, 1998 edition
“Superb. The author has an amazing ability to combine exciting storytelling and accurate scientific explanation to captivate students . . . The lively stories are certain to entice even the most reluctant of readers. This book is as valuable for history and current issues as for science.” —VOYA, 2005 edition, starred review
“Illustrates the hope and confusion, the logic and paranoia that humankind has experienced when confronting terrifying diseases . . . What makes this book particularly powerful is Farrell's gift for capturing the small moments that expose humanity's best and worst side . . . Fascinating reading as well as a revealing look at the intersection of science and social studies.” —Booklist