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Rabid: A Cultural History Of The World's Most Diabolical Virus (2012)

by Bill Wasik(Favorite Author)

3.63 of 5 Votes: 5

ISBN

0670023736 (ISBN13: 9780670023738)

languge

English

genre

History & Biography

publisher

Viking Adult

review 1: The book had some good parts that had real history and science. It also had far too much non-science. I didn’t need to know of every cure for rabies that the author was able to find in ancient literature. It is clear that none of them worked, and I don’t see the point in itemizing them. There was a lot of time and energy spent on how the concepts of werewolves and even zombies may have come from rabies, which doesn’t interest me, either.
review 2: There is a concern when reading or watching a work on nature that moralistic language will be allowed to creep into the narrative, distorting what we know, and hearkening back to a misguided age of humours, ghosts in machines, and the like. One need only spend a few hours with the programming of Nat Geo Wild to ... moresee such nonsense in full bloom. The very title of this book makes that same misstep, or at least seems to in its title. And yet the use of “Diabolical” is both purposeful and appropriate. “Rabid…” chronicles the role of rabies in both science and culture, and this second lens, with its focus on the dog—our most beloved animal companion—indeed introduces morality into the play. Rabies is not diabolical—let us be clear on that. But its role in the lives of those it impacts both directly and through the canine vessel that shares our lives, our homes, even—in my case—our furniture and beds, certainly appears evil. There is a double-standard in play for readers like myself: calling orcas cruel is nonsense, for example, but a virus that might kill my beloved French Bulldog? That? Well, that neurological monster is most certainly Hell-sent. Still, permitting this little suspension of disbelief does not undermine the science in the work. Moreover, it allows the book to achieve its full power.And that power is considerable. Using language that makes its thorough exploration of rabies science approachable for the layman, a compelling narrative of virus’ cultural history, and a structure that swings between these two themes frequently enough to never bog down, “Rabies…” crafts a moving and illuminating journey through the history of a virus whose virulence, while not diabolical, looms massive in our history. less

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