Editorial Review:Product Description:Respected science writer Arno Karlen presents a dramatic panorama of the natural history of disease. Drawing on case studies and tales of medical detection, he uncovers the ills of ancient hunter-gatherers, exposes the origins of modern urban epidemics, and probes the most recent medical reports of mysterious new diseases.
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.
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Customer Reviews
Average Rating:
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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I know it was written in 1995 thus some of the information is somewhat outdated, but the historical content is still the same.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
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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.
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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.
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Great Intro, But Lacking in the Details -
First and foremost, this book is an oustanding, fantastic introduction to the world of infectious diseases. Because of two factors, however, much informatoin is lost. Firstly, the book is rather short - hardly three hundred pages. Secondly, there are thousands of years to cover in such a volume. As a result, the reader is left with a superficial - albeit insightful - look at the history of diseases throughout history.
Karlen attempts - and succeeds, as best as expected - to do three things in this book. He begins by discussing the disease, or outbreak, at hand. Syphilis, tuberculosis, legionnaire's, marberg, ebola are all covered - en brief. Then, he goes on to elaborate on the social climate of the time, to set a context for the reader. He then discusses the impact that these diseases had on thepopulace.
As a personal fiend of specific, explicit writings on the physiological results of diseases, I was somewhat disappointed: AIDs is hardly discussed, and the physical descriptions and onsets are scant, if existant. However, Karlen's adept critical thinking - he analyzes the social impact, etc of each outbreak - makes this book worthwhile.
Overall, a good introduction. I kept notes through this book on topics that I was interested in exploring further, and was not disappointed.
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The Medical History of Mankind
This book is about the new diseases that plague mankind, an epidemic of epidemics. There was a faith in social, scientific, and technological progress dating from the 19th century (p.3). For millennia, diseases killed more people than war and famine. Since the 1960s new diseases appeared, and old ones reappeared as resistant to drugs. One cause was the high-speed travel from airplanes. This is similar to the 19th century spread of cholera by trains and steamboats. Infection and disease are as old as life. Man's modification of his environment affects other life, and his own. Germs and microbes also change. The tsetse fly's presence in ancient North America corresponds roughly with the extinction of horses (p.19).
Karlen suggests that hunting and meat eating allowed humans to progress (p.22). Leaving the tropics for temperated climates avoided the parasites that still hinder development. But eating wild game can cause problems (p.24). Pages 26-28 tell of Neanderthal man, more advanced than cartoon drawings. The Agricultural Revolution produced greater plenty and more infections; these changes are inseparable and still occur together (p.29). Plant and animal foods leave distinctive chemical signatures in human bones, as do proteins from marine and land animals (pp.32-33). Going from hunting to farming brought declining health and increasing diseases (p.34). New diseases arose: occupational, nutritional, and infectious (p.35). Intestinal helminths may have caused more damage than the more dramatic viral and bacterial plagues (p.37). Domesticated animal brought new diseases (p.39). Farming created new breeding grounds for malaria, organic fertilizers spread both old and new diseases (p.41). Helminth diseases and intestinal infections create a population sapped of energy and disease resistance (p.42). [Recall Richard Henry Dana's comments on New Englanders who settled in Spanish California; "laid back" could be a medical condition.] The Mystery Disease of Pudoc should be a warning against food imported from Third World countries like Asia (p.44-45). We already know about Mad Cow Disease in Great Britain. This is another warning against "raw fish" or raw meat. Once one person has this disease, it can be spread by the local fish!
Reading this book will provide a short history of how diseases affected human history. Some of it may be known to you, but the book has it all in 230 pages. The Bibliography has extensive references for each chapter. The Index allows a quick reference to the many topics in this interesting book. Page 140 tells how more abundant proteins from meat and dairy products reduced infections and mortality. [Remember this the next time you read vegetarian propaganda in a newspaper or magazine. They have a hidden agenda for their advertisers.] Measles and smallpox were biological weapons of colonialism (p.59). The Imperialism (or Globalism) of the Roman Empire was followed by new epidemics from the disease pools of Europe, Africa, India, and China (p.65). Will we see this repeated in the 21st century, and be followed by a new Dark Age?