"A sweeping look at how the major transformations in history--from the rise of Homo sapiens to the birth of capitalism--have been shaped not by humans but by germs. According to the accepted narrative of progress, humans have thrived thanks to their brains and brawn, collectively bending the arc of history. But in this revelatory book, professor Jonathan Kennedy argues that the myth of human exceptionalism overstates the role that we play in social...

For Chinese immigrant Wong Chut King, surviving in San Francisco meant a life in the shadows. His passing on March 6, 1900, would have been unremarkable if a city health officer hadn't noticed a swollen black lymph node on his groin-a sign of bubonic plague. Empowered by racist pseudoscience, officials rushed to quarantine Chinatown while doctors examined Wong's tissue for telltale bacteria. If the devastating disease was not contained, San Francisco...

The definitive social history of tuberculosis, from its origins as a haunting mystery to its modern reemergence that now threatens populations around the world. It killed novelist George Orwell, Eleanor Roosevelt, and millions of others -- rich and poor. Desmond Tutu, Amitabh Bachchan, and Nelson Mandela survived it, just. For centuries, tuberculosis has ravaged cities and plagued the human body. In Phantom Plague, Vidya Krishnan, traces the history...

"With a mix of sidebars, illustrations, photos, and graphic panels, this book uncovers the hidden truths about history's pandemics, from the Black Death to COVID-19"--

Examines the causes, effects, and legacy of the epidemic that killed millions of people in Europe during the fourteenth century.

"This narrative non-fiction tells the story of how the medical community and civic leaders in Los Angeles worked to stop the highly-contagious Black Plague in 1924. It highlights the work of the doctor, nurse, and priest at the center of the outbreak and how politics, racism, and greed delayed its resolution"--