A Short History of Disease

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This second edition contains an afterword on COVID-19, looking at the origins and nature of the virus, and how governments across the globe dealt with the most serious public health emergency in a century.A Short History of Disease chronicles the historical and geographical evolution of infectious and non-infectious diseases, from their prehistoric origins to the present. It offers a comprehensive guide to ailments and the medicines developed to combat them. Analyzing case studies – including the Black Death, Spanish Flu, cholera, leprosy, syphilis, cancer, and Ebola – Sean Martin maps the growth of our understanding of disease.
The book offers a fascinating insight into an important area of social history, providing an accessible introduction to disease and the ongoing quest to protect human health. "Martin isn’t joking when he calls this a history of disease. He goes right back to the earliest bacteria to evolve on the primordial Earth, long before there was anything around to infect. The path they take from there is the kind of story you might wish you’d learned in school science lessons. . . .  A consistently interesting, clearly told book bringing many diverse threads together in one place." —Herald Scotland Sean Martin is a writer, poet and filmmaker. He has written books on The Knights Templar, Alchemy and Alchemists, The Gnostics, The Cathars, Andrei Tarkovsky and New Waves in Cinema. His films include Lanterna Magicka: Bill Douglas & the Secret History of Cinema (‘a fine documentary’ – The Guardian), and Folie à Deux. Sean Martin is a writer, poet, and filmmaker. He is the author of Alchemy and Alchemists, Andrei Tarkovsky, The Cathars, The Gnostics, The Knights Templar, and New Waves in Cinema. His films include Lanterna Magicka: Bill Douglas & the Secret History of Cinema and Folie à Deux.

New and updated second edition contains an afterword on COVID-19, looking at the origins and nature of the virus, and how governments across the globe dealt with the most serious public health emergency in a century

Discusses topical issues such as the development of vaccinations and the need for public healthcare to be in the public sector, rather than run by private companies

The need for international cooperation in tackling future pandemics has never been greater, as the impact of COVID-19 has shown

Offers a fascinating insight into an important area of social history, providing an accessibleintroduction to disease and the ongoing quest to protect human health

Covers: the earliest bacteria to evolve on the primordial Earth, how coming down from the trees exposed early humans to a whole new range of micro-organisms, how agriculture resulted in diseases crossing from animals to humans, diagnoses made from ancient bones as scientists strive to work out when certain diseases arose, speculation about Biblical plagues, human efforts to combat diseases, and much more

Sean Martin is the author of several other successful Pocket Essentials, includingThe Knights Templar, The Cathars, The Gnostics, The Black Death&Alchemy and Alchemists

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