Beginning with mankind’s earliest recorded history, infectious disease has taken the lives of more humans than all wars, famines and natural disasters combined—not by a narrow margin but by an overwhelming landslide. Before the birth of modern science, losses to these unseen enemies were routinely blamed on the collective sins of man and the wrath of angry gods. Over the course of centuries, man’s ongoing inability to comprehend the microbial...

The Power of Plagues presents a rogues' gallery of epidemic-causing microorganisms placed in the context of world history. Author Irwin W. Sherman introduces the microbes that caused these epidemics and the people who sought (and still seek) to understand how diseases and epidemics are managed. What makes this book especially fascinating are the many threads that Sherman weaves together as he explains how plagues past and present have shaped the outcome...

"A discussion of pandemics, describing their characteristics, patterns of occurrence, and impacts. Features descriptions of significant pandemics and other disease outbreaks from history"--

"From the author of The Fever, a wide-ranging inquiry into the origins of pandemics Interweaving history, original reportage, and personal narrative, Pandemic explores the origins of epidemics, drawing parallels between the story of cholera-one of history's most disruptive and deadly pathogens-and the new pathogens that stalk humankind today, from Ebola and avian influenza to drug-resistant superbugs. More than three hundred infectious diseases...

A group of people are trapped in the woods and methodically killed off by a horrifying flesh-eating virus.

Infectious disease has the terrifying power to disrupt everyday life on a global scale, overwhelming public and private resources and bringing trade and transportation to a halt. In today's world, it's easier than ever to move people, animals, and materials around the planet, but the same advances that make modern infrastructure so efficient have made epidemics and even pandemics nearly inevitable. So what can -- and must -- we do in order to protect...

A thriller centered on the threat posed by a deadly disease and an international team of doctors contracted by the CDC to deal with the outbreak.