Sandra HempelCritiques

Thanks to NetGalley for granting my wish to access this ARC! For anyone who is interested in the history of disease, this book is a dream come true. The author delves into each disease with a thoughtful manner and straightforward way, using maps of the world to show the spread of each illness. These maps add a new dimension of understanding to the text, and underscore how devastating the spread of disease can be. The trail of germs is traced across the continents for each disease, adding a quiet horror to the author’s words. This alone makes the book worth buying – no other book I’ve read with this subject has illustrations quite like this. Interspersed in the chapters are other bits of artwork, either paintings of people suffering or government posters warning townfolk of the ravages of the flu, yellow fever, measles, and the like. THE ATLAS OF DISEASE stands out head and shoulders among other novels in this genre.

There are 4 sections to the book: airborne, waterborne, insects and animals, and human to human. Each chapter in the section then outlines a disease, from AIDS to Zika. The opening page has the disease name, the causal agent, transmission, symptoms, incidence and deaths, prevalence, prevention, treatment, and global strategy. For example, diptheria’s incidence and deaths statement lets us know that the germ causes around 5,000 cases per year worldwide, with 5-10% cases being fatal. The global strategy notes that there are childhood vaccination programs, but the World Health Organization (WHO) describes it as a “forgotten” disease. On the opposite page there is a painting by Francisco de Goya showing a man holding a child on his lap, supporting his head with his left hand while he probes the child’s mouth with his right. The work is entitled El Lazarillo de Tormes or El Garrotillo (“Diptheria”). When you turn the page you see illustrations of how the illness attacks the lining of the throat, causing the victim to strangle and suffocate.

I can honestly say I have learned more from this book than from many others I’ve read. The writer’s style is straightforward, sharing facts without drama, and extremely easy to comprehend. You won’t need a medical background to appreciate ATLAS. The author’s fascination with these illnesses is clearly portrayed on every page, as well as her depth of research. I cannot say enough superlatives about this book – it is far and away the best work I’ve read this year. If you are a devotee of disease, you will treasure this work forever. And for those of you who are not – please still read this. You will learn, you will be shocked, and you will appreciate the fragility of life.

I tell you, the more things change, the more they stay the same.

"Local businessmen...packed into the Commission Room...roaring their anger and denouncing reports of cholera as a 'malicious and wicked falsehood." This excerpt describes Sunderland money makers claiming cholera as fake news. The book begins as a ticking time bomb as cholera makes its way across Europe into the UK. Chapters 4-5 introduces John Snow, who "took no wine nor strong drink...and found every amusement in his science books his experiments and simple exercise" and believed in a most humane approach to animal experiments. By the time Snow qualified as a doctor, 32,000 people died of cholera in the UK. His first major medical breakthrough was the administration of chloroform as an anesthetic during surgery. He even administered chloroform to Queen Victoria during the birth of her 8th and 9th child. He was rewarded for minding the obstetrician, using the chemical sparingly, and his gentleness. It was during this time that cholera reappeared and became part John Snow's true legacy. He traced cholera's path and changed public health in ways we take for granted. He found cess pools near water tanks, privies near clogged drains, and then one particular water pump...

It was compelling, horrifying, relatable, and John Snow is likeable man, a true professional. You're cheering for him every step of the way, as he faces public ignorance and derision.

Overall, this was good. Hempel frames the rudimentary beginnings of forensic science - specifically toxicology - within the narrative of a famous poisoning case of the time, that of the Bodle family, which resulted in the death of George Bodle, the rather wealthy patriarch.

She sets up a rather thrilling beginning; I was at once riveted to the story as we're walked through the morning of the poisoning. I very much wanted to know what was going to happen next.

And this is where Hempel falters. Because just when you're on the edge of your seat, she launches into the science, the scientists and the research of the time, which leads her into side avenues of other contemporary cases. These are also interesting, but she throws so many names and events at the reader in these side alleys to her narrative, that by the time she wends her way back to the Bodles, I've lost track of who everybody was.

This becomes slightly less of a problem in the second half of the book, as things become too exciting for Hempel to get sidetracked, but it's still a regular occurrence. And the thing is, these deviations are the part where all the interesting science-y bits are; about all the attempts at trying to detect arsenic definitively; how Marsh was inspired to create his game-changing test, and how it wasn't *quite* the game-changer so many pinned their hopes on. And it's all good stuff. But Hempel is a victim of her own success at spinning a gripping narrative; I started out wanting the science-y bits but ended up just wanting to know who killed George Bodle.

Worth reading, definitely. But it's not necessarily an easy read for unexpected reasons.½

The Atlas of Disease: Mapping deadly epidemics and contagion from plague to the zika virus
By Sandra Hempel

October 2018
Nonfiction, health

I received a digital ARC copy of this book for review from NetGalley and Quarto Publishing in exchange for an unbiased review.

This is an interesting review of the history and spread of contagious disease. It is well organized and provides basic information which is easy to read. The history and location of origin is fascinating and beneficial information. There are helpful maps to help visualize the information.

Hempel's Atlas of Disease looks at our history with contagion, focusing on some of the worst illnesses humanity has faced thus far. There are four sections, divided by transmission type- airborne, waterborne, insects/animals, and human to human. At once terrifying and fascinating, this book will introduce the reader to some of the deadliest diseases, from typhoid, to bubonic plague, to ebola. Maps accompany, charting pandemics and epidemics the likes of which have shaped our history. We see how diseases and treatments have varied through history, and changed over time, as more evidence comes to light. Great for those interested in epidemiology, and disease through history.

***Many thanks to Netgalley and Quarto Publishing for providing an ARC in exchange for a fair and honest review.

Each year, it seems, a new and deadly disease arises or an old epidemic breaks out - recently, eg, the return of diseases that we thought were history thanks to vaccines, diseases like Measles and Chicken Pox and recurring diseases that have no simple solution like Ebola. But diseases have played a profound role in the course of history from possible small pox epidemics in ancient times to the influenza epidemic of 1918-19 that killed more people than combat during WWI to the recent Ebola outbreaks or the cholera epidemic that has, just in the last few months, killed thousands in Yemen. In The Atlas of Disease: Mapping deadly epidemics and contagion from the plague to the zika virus, author Sandra Hempel not only gives a fascinating overview of many of the worst epidemics we have faced right up to the present but provides maps showing the countries affected by them, how the disease developed and spread and the pathways they took as they spread. She explains how cartographic techniques have been used to combat disease (eg. how John Snow identified the source of the 1854 cholera epidemic in London) and how this has helped to contain the spread of deadly pathogens.

For anyone interested in how epidemics and pandemics have changed our history and how mapping their spread, albeit just one weapon in the arsenal against them, has helped in the past and continues to help in containing them, The Atlas of Disease is a fascinating read and I recommend it highly.

Thanks to Netgalley and White Lion Publishing for the opportunity to read this book in exchange for an honest review

nonfiction, medical, science, spread-of-disease, maps

I already know the basics of signs/symptoms and transmission of highly contagious diseases courtesy of an eclectic nursing career, but generally have difficulty envisioning global pathways (think of it as map dyslexia). This book revisits the more notable contagious diseases throughout world history, but is exceptional in that it gives excellent visuals demonstrating WHERE the diseases traveled and if simultaneously or sequentially. Fascinating! An excellent resource for geeks and practical application as well. I will be glad to revisit this book periodically, and not just for crosswords or to win a bet with a colleague!
I requested and received a free ebook copy from Quarto Publishing Group - White Lion Publishing via NetGalley. Thank you!

Part history, part biography. I found it quite interesting, but there were too many digressions with side personages and anecdotes, and the author seemed too condescending towards the miasmists.

"To this day I cannot look without a shudder at the big square house in Plumstead village"
By sally tarbox on 10 May 2017
Format: Audible Audio Edition
This true-life crime story is well-researched and an interesting read.
In 1833 Plumstead (London) , George Bodle - and some of his household - were stricken with violent symptoms after partaking of coffee. Evidence pointed to poison, but who was to blame: a disgruntled servant? George's feckless grandson? Or his son - largely and inexplicably cut out of the Will, and seemingly eager to put the blame on his son. What about George's beloved son-in-law, who stood to inherit the lion's share?
The author takes us through the trial and also through the infancy of toxicology, as various scientists attempted - with varying degrees of success - to test definitively for arsenic.
An intriguing story, though I felt Ms Hempel digressed rather a lot, bringing in every random piece of information she had uncovered

For centuries arsenic had been used for medicinal and pest control issues. In the early 1800's arsenic was quite readily available for purchase and because it was odorless and mixed easily with food and drink, it became the poison of choice for those who wished to do away with those rich relatives who just wouldn't die quickly enough. The 1833 case of George Bodle, a weathly landowner in Plumstead, England, brought the issue of detecting arsenic poisoning to the foreground. The entire Bodle household, including the servants, became suddenly ill after breakfast one November morning. Everyone, except patriarch George, recovered and George's grandson, John, stood accused of murder. The local doctor requested the help of James Marsh, a chemist who had been devising a test for arsenic poisoning. The Bodle case lingered long in the court system due to mismanagement of evidence, arguments over who was going to pay for the trial, and generally laughable police work as the local constable visits several pubs on his way to the police station with the accused murderer in tow. This murder trial is the main focus but many other arsenic deaths are mentioned as well as the quest for a definitive test for the poison.

Hempel has obviously done a great deal of research into her subject matter and the Bodle case itself reads like an interesting Victorian mystery. I did find the book was difficult to follow at times for there were so many people to try to keep straight. For the most part I enjoyed the book.

Apparently the author considered the story too long for a magazine article and too short for a book. Unfortunately she chose to add filler, lots of filler, to make it up to 250 pages. There are about 150 good pages in there, but Hempel needed a tough editor to force her to cut away the dross. I couldn't make it through numerous accounts of arsenical poisoning completely unrelated to her storyline. It's tempting to include every fact one has uncovered through exhaustive research, but more engaging writers pick and choose in order to build a narrative. If you skip the last three chapters, you will have made a substantial down payment on trimming the book down to its optimal size.½

A fascinating account of the birth of epidemiology, public medicine, and even public sanitation. Very well researched and even better written. Highly recommended!

Using the death of prosperous farmer George Bodle as her jumping-off point, Sandra Hempel explores the use of arsenic as a murder weapon in 19th-century England. Multiple cases are examined, some in more detail than others, and Hempel examines how these led to the development of better and more sophisticated techniques for actually detecting the presence of arsenic.

A big digressive at times as Hempel veers off on tangents, but overall an engaging read on the topic. One of the most interesting elements is her coverage of poisoning as portrayed in popular fiction of the time, including Bulwer-Lytton's Lucretia.½

bookshelves: autumn-2013, nonfiction, published-2013, radio-4, true-grime, poison, britain-england, victoriana
Read from September 14 to 20, 2013

BOTW

BBC BLURB: On the morning of Saturday 2nd of November 1833, the Bodle household sat down to their morning breakfast, sharing a pot of coffee. That evening, the local surgeon John Butler received an urgent summons - the family and their servants had all collapsed with a serious illness. Three days later, after lingering in agony, the wealthy grandfather George Bodle died in his bed at his farmhouse in Plumstead. The Bodles had been the victims of a terrible poisoning.

In the nineteenth century, criminal poisoning with arsenic was frighteningly easy. For a few pence and with few questions asked, it was possible to buy enough poison to kill off an entire family, hence arsenic's popular name - The Inheritor's Powder.

The surgeon John Butler had set about collecting the evidence that he hoped would bring the culprit to justice but, in the 1830s, forensic science was still in its infancy. Even diagnosing arsenic poisoning was a hit-and-miss affair.

So when a chemist named James Marsh was called as an expert witness in the case of the murder at Plumstead, he decided that he had to create a reliable test for arsenic poisoning, or the murders would continue and killers would be left to walk free. In so doing though he was to cause as many problems as he solved. Were innocent men and women now going to the gallows?

Sandra Hempel, author of The Inheritor's Powder, is a medical journalist who has written for a wide variety of both popular newspapers and magazines and specialist publications, from the Mail on Sunday and The Times to Nursing Times and BMA News.

Abridged by Libby Spurrier Director: David Blount A Pier production for BBC Radio 4.

In the style of Kate Summerscale, it was okay.
2 likes

Gripping story well told ( apart from a few digressions here and there). The resistance of the establishment including Florence Nightingale to what appeared so obvious, simple and concrete; namely that Cholera is water-borne, thus calls for clean water. Shows the strong grip of the scientific paradigm (a la Thomas Kuhn): data and logic are powerless in the face of the accepted wisdom of the day. Snow as an outsider has no voice, though he had treated Q Victoria, for goodness sake. How high did you have to go to be in the in-crowd?). Food for thought in that all this squalor and ignorance was just 100 years before I was born. And more in reading this as the Legionnaire's disease breaks out in Edinburgh (source untraceable,1 death so far, friend living in the danger zone). Notice the book came out at the same time as "The Ghost Map" - on the same subject - which made a bigger splash.

How it is possible to solve a problem without understanding it fully.

In the early- to mid-1800's, cholera ravaged Europe. It swept into neighborhoods in the blink of an eye, killed hundreds or thousands in days, and then just as quickly disappeared completely...only to pop up again somewhere else.. Family members watched as their loved ones went from perfect health to extreme dehydration and death in mere hours. Whole houses...whole streets were decimated, erasing the lives of everyone who lived within. Yet just as astonishingly some places were left entirely untouched, like the house next door left standing after last night's tornado.

The most horrifying aspect of cholera was how little was known about it. The speed and unpredictability of this illness flabbergasted scientists and public health officials alike, and doctors were at a loss as to how to cure the endless supply of dying patients. The mad scramble to stop this unseen menace resulted in some alarming solutions, most of which only killed people and saved barely any.

And then John Snow, father of epidemiology and anesthesia, stood glowing like a radiant sun cresting over a shadow-casting mountain and proclaimed with insurmountable logical and wisdom, maybe....just maybe, it's in the water! Sadly, only to be dismissed by his peers, his advice going unacknowledged and unknown by the general public.

John Snow is one of my favorite historical figures, and this is another fantastic book on his work during the cholera epidemics of the 1800's. So yes, of course I loved the book. It was a wonderful account of those terrible events, and this book in particular had a strong focus on Mr. Snow himself, which made it all the better in my opinion. Highly recommended.

Epidemiology, and disease mapping in it's infancy. Great book on the development of medical research...may the miasmatists fall!

How it is possible to solve a problem without understanding it fully.