Scan barcode
lukescalone's review against another edition
3.0
This book is a really important one, but it's been so foundational that this piece has been eclipsed by numerous others. McNeill's primary contribution is centering disease as a subject of historical analysis. Before this work, little thought had been given to disease's role in world history. Clearly, disease was pervasive and affected everybody on earth, but nobody gave thought to the impact disease had on historical processes themselves. Now, there are numerous works that look at disease in a variety of periods and places. William McNeill's own son, John McNeill, has followed in his father's footsteps by producing Mosquito Empires, for example.
Because the work has been eclipsed, it is not nearly as important as it once was. Much of the text is rooted in hunches that McNeill has based on some level of evidence (although not enough). Thanks to advances in the sciences (and the powerful rise of the history of science/history of medicine), historians can now use data beyond historical documents to better examine the history of disease.
Because the work has been eclipsed, it is not nearly as important as it once was. Much of the text is rooted in hunches that McNeill has based on some level of evidence (although not enough). Thanks to advances in the sciences (and the powerful rise of the history of science/history of medicine), historians can now use data beyond historical documents to better examine the history of disease.
ddrake's review against another edition
5.0
A great book, although pretty dense and academic. It's a tour of human history in which disease is given emphasis, because as McNeill convincingly argues, epicdemics and plagues and so on have played a much larger part in shaping the course of humanity and civilization than most historians imagine.
I'm writing this in August 2021, sadly still in the middle of the coronavirus pandemic; I've been avoiding some reading about pandemics and so on, but this is an excellent book to read right now to gain perspective about what's going on -- and to be both inspired and disappointed by our response. In so many ways, our scientific / technological / public health response has been great, but in so many ways it's still falling so short.
This reminded me, of course, of [b:Guns, Germs, and Steel: The Fates of Human Societies|1842|Guns, Germs, and Steel The Fates of Human Societies|Jared Diamond|https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1453215833l/1842._SY75_.jpg|2138852]; this book may be viewed as "Jared Diamond's book, but just 'Germs'".
Other books in the genre of "human history, but via the lens of X" are:
[b:A Splendid Exchange: How Trade Shaped the World from Prehistory to Today|2413423|A Splendid Exchange How Trade Shaped the World from Prehistory to Today|William J. Bernstein|https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1328774642l/2413423._SX50_.jpg|2420600]: human history, but via the lens of trade;
[b:Origins: How Earth's History Shaped Human History|42118857|Origins How Earth's History Shaped Human History|Lewis Dartnell|https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1541416370l/42118857._SY75_.jpg|65710933]: human history, but via the lens of geology and geography;
[b:When Asia Was the World|2004985|When Asia Was the World|Stewart Gordon|https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1348366505l/2004985._SY75_.jpg|2008903] and [b:Genghis Khan and the Making of the Modern World|40718726|Genghis Khan and the Making of the Modern World|Jack Weatherford|https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1530716694l/40718726._SY75_.jpg|2468245]: human history, but not so Eurocentric.
McNeill's book was written in the mid-1970s but is still very, very relevant, even if some of our understanding has evolved (in particular, about the 1918 flu pandemic). Highly recommended.
I'm writing this in August 2021, sadly still in the middle of the coronavirus pandemic; I've been avoiding some reading about pandemics and so on, but this is an excellent book to read right now to gain perspective about what's going on -- and to be both inspired and disappointed by our response. In so many ways, our scientific / technological / public health response has been great, but in so many ways it's still falling so short.
This reminded me, of course, of [b:Guns, Germs, and Steel: The Fates of Human Societies|1842|Guns, Germs, and Steel The Fates of Human Societies|Jared Diamond|https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1453215833l/1842._SY75_.jpg|2138852]; this book may be viewed as "Jared Diamond's book, but just 'Germs'".
Other books in the genre of "human history, but via the lens of X" are:
[b:A Splendid Exchange: How Trade Shaped the World from Prehistory to Today|2413423|A Splendid Exchange How Trade Shaped the World from Prehistory to Today|William J. Bernstein|https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1328774642l/2413423._SX50_.jpg|2420600]: human history, but via the lens of trade;
[b:Origins: How Earth's History Shaped Human History|42118857|Origins How Earth's History Shaped Human History|Lewis Dartnell|https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1541416370l/42118857._SY75_.jpg|65710933]: human history, but via the lens of geology and geography;
[b:When Asia Was the World|2004985|When Asia Was the World|Stewart Gordon|https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1348366505l/2004985._SY75_.jpg|2008903] and [b:Genghis Khan and the Making of the Modern World|40718726|Genghis Khan and the Making of the Modern World|Jack Weatherford|https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1530716694l/40718726._SY75_.jpg|2468245]: human history, but not so Eurocentric.
McNeill's book was written in the mid-1970s but is still very, very relevant, even if some of our understanding has evolved (in particular, about the 1918 flu pandemic). Highly recommended.
alymac42's review against another edition
2.0
Finished off the plague year with a plague book. Unfortunately, the writing was far too dense and dry. It was also all over the place and hard to follow. It had some interesting ideas, but overall not the best read I've had.
jennybellium's review against another edition
4.0
Published in 1977, Plagues and Peoples seems an old, non-popularized Guns, Germs and Steel by Jared Diamond. However, the scope of McNeill's book is, granted, much smaller than that of Diamond's, who purports to explain the trajectory of the human race. I found Plagues and Peoples in a used-book store, and was excited, upon reading it, to find how well it fit into my knowledge-base and interests. The basic premise is familiar from such authors as Diamond and the vehement pre-Columbian population number debates-- disease has a vastly under-rated effect on societies, particularly indigenous peoples and nomad-type cultures.
The key concept here is that the introduction of a disease to a hitherto unexposed population will wreak havoc amongst the people and the society. People will die, they'll begin to doubt their gods who aren't saving them from the plague, authority structures will fall apart, food will not be obtained or prepared, people will turn hostile or isolationist. The mechanics of the original rise of disease involve population density, animal husbandry, and permanent settlements. Columbian-age Europe, for example, had a sufficiently dense population to sustain diseases caught from closely-quartered animals or poorly santitized cities. The same could not be said for most of the Americas, where there were few domesticatable animals, populations seldom became significantly dense on the landscape, and many civilizations were highly mobile and thus did not live amongst their own wastes. Europeans had a much higher incidence of disease, and thus more virile immune systems. They lived with diseases for their entire lives, catching childhood illnesses and becoming immune, sustaining parasites for years without symptoms.
The very arrival of Europeans on American shores began a huge depopulation of indigenous peoples even in absence of fighting. They had no immunity, and the people suffered greatly. Previously endemic, low-level diseases from Europe became virulent pandemics in the Americas.
One of McNeill's original contributions to this concept in my experience is his apt comparison of disease mechanisms to governmental evolution. Like a disease parasite, a government requires a significantly large base (wealth) before it can be plundered. An overzealous parasite which kills all of its victims is akin to a government seizure of necessities, leaving its work force to face starvation-- thus, there will be no future opportunities for the government to plunder the population. Eventually, a balance is reached: the parasite becomes less virulent, the government less hostile, and the population base is sufficiently large to take losses of life or wealth in stride. A successful government provides protection against catastrophic raids to those who pay taxes, much like a low-level parasite can immunize a person against deadlier attackers. In both cases, it is a burden to the population-- people are sickened and occasionally killed by disease, or taxed out of their wealth and production. However, these burdens are typically less onerous than periodic exposure to lethal disasters such as an epidemic disease or comprehensive seizure of property: at least the population has a chance at survival, even if a dismal life.
2006-05-14
The key concept here is that the introduction of a disease to a hitherto unexposed population will wreak havoc amongst the people and the society. People will die, they'll begin to doubt their gods who aren't saving them from the plague, authority structures will fall apart, food will not be obtained or prepared, people will turn hostile or isolationist. The mechanics of the original rise of disease involve population density, animal husbandry, and permanent settlements. Columbian-age Europe, for example, had a sufficiently dense population to sustain diseases caught from closely-quartered animals or poorly santitized cities. The same could not be said for most of the Americas, where there were few domesticatable animals, populations seldom became significantly dense on the landscape, and many civilizations were highly mobile and thus did not live amongst their own wastes. Europeans had a much higher incidence of disease, and thus more virile immune systems. They lived with diseases for their entire lives, catching childhood illnesses and becoming immune, sustaining parasites for years without symptoms.
The very arrival of Europeans on American shores began a huge depopulation of indigenous peoples even in absence of fighting. They had no immunity, and the people suffered greatly. Previously endemic, low-level diseases from Europe became virulent pandemics in the Americas.
One of McNeill's original contributions to this concept in my experience is his apt comparison of disease mechanisms to governmental evolution. Like a disease parasite, a government requires a significantly large base (wealth) before it can be plundered. An overzealous parasite which kills all of its victims is akin to a government seizure of necessities, leaving its work force to face starvation-- thus, there will be no future opportunities for the government to plunder the population. Eventually, a balance is reached: the parasite becomes less virulent, the government less hostile, and the population base is sufficiently large to take losses of life or wealth in stride. A successful government provides protection against catastrophic raids to those who pay taxes, much like a low-level parasite can immunize a person against deadlier attackers. In both cases, it is a burden to the population-- people are sickened and occasionally killed by disease, or taxed out of their wealth and production. However, these burdens are typically less onerous than periodic exposure to lethal disasters such as an epidemic disease or comprehensive seizure of property: at least the population has a chance at survival, even if a dismal life.
2006-05-14
kikithelibrarian's review against another edition
4.0
Originally published in the late 1970s, this general overview of the history of humans and infectious diseases could use another update. The most interesting portions contain narratives of epidemics throughout history, how the population was affected, and how it finally passed, but those narratives are few and far between. Despite it's overall dryness of tone, this book was probably one of the first of its kind to explore the effects that diseases had on human history as opposed to war or natural disasters.
Some prophetic words from the past: "...indeed, it now requires an act of imagination to understand what infectious disease formerly meant to humankind, or even to our own grandfathers. Yet as is to be expected when human beings learn new ways of tampering with complex ecological relationships, the control over microparasites that medical research has achieved since the 1880s has also created a number of unexpected by-products and new crises." - this was in reference to polio, which afflicted older youths in upper-classes who were not exposed to the virus as babies because of new cleanliness practices after the discovery of germs. So, basically exposure to germs at an early age was necessary for immunity, UNTIL vaccines took the place of luck. But even with vaccines, "Any new and widespread epidemic is therefore almost sure to originate with a virus that has changed enough to escape the antibodies last year's vaccine can create in human bloodstreams." Ultimately, humans and disease go hand-in-hand and we will never not live with disease and finding a balance will always be the challenge.
Some prophetic words from the past: "...indeed, it now requires an act of imagination to understand what infectious disease formerly meant to humankind, or even to our own grandfathers. Yet as is to be expected when human beings learn new ways of tampering with complex ecological relationships, the control over microparasites that medical research has achieved since the 1880s has also created a number of unexpected by-products and new crises." - this was in reference to polio, which afflicted older youths in upper-classes who were not exposed to the virus as babies because of new cleanliness practices after the discovery of germs. So, basically exposure to germs at an early age was necessary for immunity, UNTIL vaccines took the place of luck. But even with vaccines, "Any new and widespread epidemic is therefore almost sure to originate with a virus that has changed enough to escape the antibodies last year's vaccine can create in human bloodstreams." Ultimately, humans and disease go hand-in-hand and we will never not live with disease and finding a balance will always be the challenge.
manymarvelousmoments's review against another edition
5.0
If we know each other well, I've probably recommended this book to you. It's one of my staples. Examines human history from the perspective of epidemiology, discussing how disease has shaped our societies. It's imperfect, and some of the science discussed is outdated now, but it's still a must-read.
zinful's review against another edition
5.0
I barely have words for the love I foster in my diseased little heart for this book. Sure, it's mostly just numbers, dates, statistics. There isn't any of that fluffy fictionalization of the history of disease, no "imagine if..." scenarios- but, in its utter simplicity, this book wins. No pontification of other nonsense (not to say I dislike Jared Diamond, haha)...this book is about how plagues affect people. How many die, what happens when a society is affected, the evolution of infection. It's a geekly pleasure, indeed, but not a boring or empty one...sheer, unadulterated bliss.