A History of the World in Six Plagues
How Contagion, Class and Captivity Shape Us, from Cholera to Covid-19
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A History of the World in Six Plagues
Narrated by:
Veronique Olin
Buy Now for $26.99
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Narrated by:
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Veronique Olin
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By:
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Edna Bonhomme
About this listen
'Fascinating and thought-provoking' Jonathan Kennedy, author of Pathogenesis: How Germs Made History
'Tender as it tackles some of the most stigmatized subjects of our time' Morgan Jenkins, author of Wandering in Strange Lands
A History of the World in Six Plagues unveils a powerful and unsettling truth: epidemic diseases enter the world by chance, but they become catastrophic by human design.
In this groundbreaking work, Bonhomme explores how six pivotal diseases - Cholera, HIV/AIDS, the Spanish Flu, Sleeping Sickness, Ebola and COVID-19 - have shaped the trajectory of human history. With vivid storytelling and rigorous research, she reveals how pandemics have consistently widened the gaps in racial, economic and sociopolitical divides, from the slave ships of the Atlantic to today's fractured healthcare systems.
How did a colonial obsession with sugar amplify the devastation of Cholera? Why did sleeping sickness become a weapon of empire in Tanzania? And how has COVID-19 magnified inequities in our modern, interconnected world?
Bonhomme's incisive analysis transforms our understanding of public health, not as a neutral force but as a stage where power, policy and prejudice collide. Urgent and illuminating, A History of the World in Six Plagues is not just a history of disease - it is a call to reimagine a more equitable future in the face of ongoing global health challenges.
'This book tells the accounts of people who deserved better. It is also a story of redemption, and of the little child in all of us, curled up alone in a huge bed, without her parents, who wants to be healthy and free.'©2024 Edna Bonhomme
Critic Reviews
Pandemics thrive on inequities and widen them, providing more kindling for future plagues. This simple lesson has proven devastatingly difficult to learn. But I think that if everyone read Edna Bonhomme's incredible, humane, insightful book--and I hope they do--we might stand a chance of actually breaking the cycle of neglect and panic. (Ed Yong, Pulitzer Prize-winning author of I CONTAIN MULTITUDES and AN IMMENSE WORLD)
Engaging and poignant.
Deeply compassionate . . . A History of the World in Six Plagues could not be more urgent.
An expansive portraiture of how colonialism and confinement have influenced our understanding of illness and humanity . . . This book is tender as it tackles some of the most stigmatized subjects of our time. (Morgan Jerkins, author of WANDERING IN STRANGE LANDS)
A fascinating and thought-provoking read, combining keenly observed anthropological insights, captivating historical narratives and biting social critique. (Jonathan Kennedy, author of PATHOGENESIS: HOW GERMS MADE HISTORY)
A breathtaking journey through the intertwined histories of contagions and systemic inequities that have shaped our history . . . Bonhomme's thought-provoking exploration not only sheds light on past injustices but challenges us to confront our history and envision a more compassionate future. (Uché Blackstock, author of LEGACY)
A powerful book that shines a light on the parts of life we'd rather ignore, and the beauty that can arise from horror. (Sarah Jaffe, author of FROM THE ASHES)
Ambitious in her scope yet intimate in her humane storytelling, Bonhomme has written the book we need to navigate life on our interconnected planet. Brilliant, tender and illuminating. (Steven W. Thrasher, author of THE VIRAL UNDERCLASS: THE HUMAN TOLL WHEN INEQUALITY AND DISEASE COLLIDE)
This book is a tour de force! . . . A History of the World in Six Plagues will change how people think about public health and histories of medicine. (Dr. Tiffany N. Florvil, Associate Professor of History at The University of New Mexico and author of MOBILIZING BLACK GERMANY)
Equal parts intimate portrait of illness and piercing analysis of our socio-political predicament . . . Let this book be a guide for our pandemic past, present and probable--but by no means inescapable--future. (George Aumoithe, Assistant Professor of History at Harvard University)
Masterfully exposes the deep inequities that underpin epidemics, across the globe and throughout history . . . As we grapple with what the next major global outbreak might be, this book couldn't be more timely. (Layal Liverpool, author of SYSTEMIC: HOW RACISM IS MAKING US SICK)
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