The Atlas of Disease by Sandra Hempel

The Atlas of Disease by Sandra Hempel ISBN-13: 9781781317907 Hardback: 224 pages Publisher: White Lion Publishing Released: Oct. 30, 2018

Source: ebook review copy from the publisher through NetGalley.

Book Description, Modified from Goodreads:
Behind every disease is a story, a complex narrative woven of multiple threads, from the natural history of the disease, to the tale of its discovery and its place in history.


My Review:
The Atlas of Disease explores major diseases and epidemics. The author looked at diphtheria, influenza, leprosy, measles, scarlet fever, SARS, smallpox, tuberculosis, cholera, dysentery, typhoid, malaria, plague, typhus, yellow fever, Zika, polio, Ebola, AIDS, and syphilis. She talked about the history of the disease, including quotes from historical people talking about what the disease was like during normal, local appearances or during epidemics or in perhaps the first recorded mentions of a disease. She talked about what may have caused a disease to turn into an epidemic (like war, trade, etc.) and also where the disease is currently still a problem.

While adequate, I had expected more maps and more detailed maps in an atlas. There was usually one or two maps per disease, showing things like the spread of the disease during a certain outbreak. They were usually either color-coded chunks on a map or color-coded arrows indicating the general spread of the disease. While the author did talk about how maps were used to identify the source of the cholera during an epidemic, maps were not the focus of the text but illustrations of what was stated in the text. I found the information about how the diseases were treated and viewed in the past and the present to be interesting.


If you've read this book, what do you think about it? I'd be honored if you wrote your own opinion of the book in the comments.


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