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This Mortal Coil

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This Mortal Coil

By: Andrew Doig
Narrated by: Barnaby Edwards
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Summary
 Dementia, heart failure and cancer are now the leading causes of death in industrialised nations, where life expectancy is mostly above 80. A century ago, life expectancy was about 50 and people died mainly from infectious diseases. In the Middle Ages, death was mostly caused by famine, plague, childbirth and war. In the Palaeolithic period, where our species spent 95% of its time, we frequently died from violence and accidents.

Causes of death have changed irrevocably across time. In the course of a few centuries we have gone from a world where disease or violence were likely to strike anyone at any age, and where famine could be just one bad harvest away, to one where excess food is more of a problem than a lack of it. Why is this? Why don't we die from plague, scurvy or smallpox any more? And why are heart attacks, Alzheimer's and cancer so prevalent today?

This Mortal Coil explains why we died in the past, the reasons we die now and how causes of death are about to profoundly change. University of Manchester Professor Andrew Doig provides an eye-opening, global portrait of death throughout time, looking at particular causes of death - from infectious disease to genetic disease, violence to diet - who they affected, and the people who made it possible to overcome them.©2022 Andrew Doig (P)2022 W. F. Howes Ltd Death & Dying History & Commentary Medicine & Health Care Industry Sociology World Alzheimer's Disease
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I loved it, finished it in over a week and am now transformed into a fact-dropping public health nerd.

Public health made so interesting

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It seems at the start that we might just be in for a history of statistics, but this a highly interesting book covering a range if sub-topics. Informative, interesting and well-read, definitely worth the listen. My partner and I had some great discussions about the topics, in between my listening sessions as I felt the need to share it.

Worth it

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A wonderful collection of the episodes of human existence that have challenged our survival. Fascinating - never a boring moment - despite the details often highlighted. Worth a second listen/read!

An extraordinary and insightful journey through the challenges of human existence.

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