Quite good, with a lot of information about the common evolution of diseases and human society/race. Plenty of useful, little known and often surprising details about the ”plagues” that tormented humanity and the never-ending war against them.
One star less than 5/5 because I felt that the historical part was not as well developed as the medical one (I expected more about the impact on the fall empires etc.).
Recommended. ( )

Great overview/taster for disease generally (there's some science, some humanities, a good mix). I loved it and will be lending it out to everyone because it's an quick, entertaining read whilst being informative.

I gave it five stars because to me it fulfils its purpose very well and I thoroughly enjoyed it. ( )

A Short History of Disease by Sean Martin is a very highly recommended concise, easy to read history that presents a good overview of infectious and non-infectious diseases.

The book begins with definitions and origins and then is divided up by time periods, from prehistory to modern times. "Analyzing case studies including the Black Death, Spanish Flu, cholera, leprosy, syphilis, cancer, and Ebola, this book systematically maps the development of trends and the latest research on disease into a concise and enlightening timeline." Naturally anything with such a broad scope is not going to contain an exhaustive amount of information covering every faucet of every disease. It does have a nice balance of history and diseases, including how society has handled them over the decades - and spread them.

Contents include: Introduction: Definitions, Origins; Chapter One: Prehistory; Chapter Two: Antiquity; Chapter Three: The Dark and Middle Ages; Chapter Four: The New World; Chapter Five: Early Modern to 1900; Chapter Six: The Twentieth Century; Chapter Seven: New Diseases; Notes, Glossary of Diseases, Bibliography, and Index.

I'll freely admit that I have a fondness for books on diseases and outbreaks of various epidemics or pandemics, so this accessible survey of diseases is right up my alley. I thought Martin did an excellent job presenting the history of diseases in a way that doesn't seem too daunting or overwhelming while including a wealth of pertinent information. As is also my wont, I was thrilled to see that A Short History of Disease includes notes, a bibliography, and index. I really liked the inclusion of a glossary of diseases which I think could be helpful for the novice.


Disclosure: My Kindle edition was courtesy of Oldcastle Books for review purposes. ( )