It has only been decades since historians completely discounted disease as a force to be reckoned with in the past and future of human history. McNeill's book put an end to that when it was published in 1976. It immediately struck a chord. Meticulously researched, McNeill showed everyone just how important diseases can be.



         The primary thesis of this book is that there is always going to be give and take between humans and microparasites. McNeill uses examples of how diseases - mainly infectious diseases - have altered the course of history. Likewise, how humans have altered the course of a disease. For example, the increase of wool production in the late middle ages meant cheaper clothing. Peasants who had previously had to huddle together to keep warm could now afford clothing and blankets. The skin infection yaws, which had been a problem for the poor due to the close living conditions, could no longer operate and possibly altered its form to become syphillis.



         More modern examples are seen in medicine today. Advances on the technological front may undoubtedly bring positive and negative results. For instance, in the 1800's new city health organizations made cities healthier by improving sewers. The consequence was not only a decrease in cholera but also an increase in the potential size of a population. City populations, which had originally sufferred huge die-off and required peasant populations to sustain, were now stable. Rural peasant populations now looking for a new life in the city were facing harder competition and slums arose. This can still be seen in less developed areas of the world where shanty towns develop outside of major citites. Unfortunately, the people in these slums still live in conditions rife with disease and hunger.



         In more developed countries where medical treatment is readily accessible there are still downsides to technology. Longer life-spans means a greater incidence of cancer, which is still a major killer across the board. Most cancers have no reliable cure as yet for the simple reason that it usually isn't caused by a bacterium or virus. It is caused by the simple act of someone growing old. This noninfectious disease is a new threat that will test medical technology even further.

         This book has taught me that the balance will always be maintained. In the end, we are mortal, and we will still have to face that in addition to finding new cures and better technology. In a way I now feel like I have a grasp on just how mortal we are, in that I see now just how much our actions against disease affect many other ecological, psychological, sociological, and political factors. If something gets unbalances, the system will correct itself.

         William H. McNeill was a professor of history at the University of Chicago from 1947-1987. He has published nearly twenty books on history and was the first non-European to win the Erasmus Prize.



         The impetus for writing this book came when he was reading about the conquest of the Aztecs by Cortez. He found the conquest to have been a remarkably easy affair for the Spanish, considering they were outnumbered 20 to 1, and wondered if the affect of European diseases on the native population helped even the odds as well as providing a strong psychological basis for the natives fearing and respecting the conquerors.

         Recently, SARS has made the headlines as a new and mysterious disease. This book has helped me recognize familiar patterns. I see that technology has hurt us somewhat - airplane travel has spread the disease just like boat and caravan travel have in the past. I also see that sometimes political systems can aggravate the problem - China ignored the disease initially and paid the price. All in all reading this book has made the news less newsworthy and given me a sense of perspective when it comes to all diseases and how to handle them.



         In addition, this book talks about how humans themselves can be parasites to fellow humans. In many ways human parasitism can be just as deadly as the bacteria and viruses. This is something we should all keep in mind as we move into the future.

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Created Apr 14, 2003 at 11:29am • Submit your own review...