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Dread: How Fear And Fantasy Have Fueled Epidemics From The Black Death To The Avian Flu (2009)

by Philip Alcabes(Favorite Author)

2.9 of 5 Votes: 1

ISBN

1586486187 (ISBN13: 9781586486181)

languge

English

genre

History & Biography

publisher

PublicAffairs

review 1: The book was OK and I mostly liked it. However, I was quite repetitive and it seemed to drag at times. Much better editing of Ch2 and most of Ch3 could have reduced the volume to about half as much text. It just went on and on. Overall, I'd give it 2.5 but I couldn't quite go to 3 stars.I thought the analysis at the end of Ch3 (Miasma and the Rise of Science) was perhaps where the began to get interesting and the Ch4 on Science was insightful in places.p. 96"A germ theory would tend to undermine the physicians' craft, since doctors' work was based on knowledge of the patient and attention to observable signs, not microscopic creatures."The Epilogue, "The Risk-Free Life" was the best part of the book. p. 215 "To wish to escape peril entirely is to yearn for the unattaina... moreble."
review 2: An interesting read, if somewhat spoilt by some fairly boring sections and a little too much liberal thinking (and I think of myself as fairly liberal)The theory that most epidemics are actually not about disease and link into other prejudices such as racism, homophobia and poverty seem highly accurate. Making links to diseases based on certain stereotyping has been the norm since ancient times. Nowadays, this has moved away from racial groups towards other minorities (homosexuals and HIV), and even more recently to the obese and autistic; conditions described as epidemics, but aren't linked to a virus or bacteria, and therefore shouldn't be treated as such.His theories around how the media and government distort scientific theory to meet their own needs have some merit, but tend to get drowned out a little by his very obvious liberal bias less

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