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https://theconversation.com/diseases-gave-us-the-rise-of-christianity-the-end-of-the-aztecs-and-public-sanitation-how-might-future-plagues-change-human-history-201569>
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Book review: Pathogenesis: How germs made history – by Jonathan Kennedy
(Torva)
“Every once in a while a book lands on your desk that changes the way you
perceive the world you live in, a book that fundamentally challenges your
understanding of human history.” So began the blurb that came with this book.
Aha! I thought. The usual advertising hyperbole, a gross exaggeration.
Yet
Pathogenesis did challenge much of my understanding of world history.
Who knew that if it wasn’t for an Ebola-like pandemic in the 2nd century CE,
Christianity would never have become a world religion? Or that if it weren’t
for retroviruses, women would be laying eggs rather than having live births?
(According to the book’s author, a retrovirus inserted DNA into our ancestor’s
genome that caused the placenta to develop.)
However, this is not another book of Amazing Facts: it is a work of
scholarship, with nearly 700 references and notes. At the same time, it is very
readable, and even amusing at times.
Many books have been written about the impact of disease on civilisation. I
have even written my own modest essay on the topic. However,
Pathogenesis
delves deeply into the social history of the world.
Jonathan Kennedy has a PhD in sociology from the University of Cambridge, and
his sociological bent comes through strongly. In eight chapters, and some 350
pages, Kennedy takes us on a whirlwind tour of social history, describing how
infectious diseases have shaped humanity at every stage."
Cheers,
*** Xanni ***
--
mailto:xanni@xanadu.net Andrew Pam
http://xanadu.com.au/ Chief Scientist, Xanadu
https://glasswings.com.au/ Partner, Glass Wings
https://sericyb.com.au/ Manager, Serious Cybernetics
