This book, over a decade old, tells the history of one of London’s worst cholera epidemics. It also tells of how John Snow and Henry Whitehead found the cause for the epidemic and transformed how cities managed cholera epidemics and epidemics in general. Knowledge, reason, and data triumphed over ignorance. In his telling, Johnson describes a variety of topics in depth – a telling that informs and inspires modern readers.
During the early Victorian era, the prevailing theory during this outbreak said that unhealthy “miasmas” of pollution caused disease. Cities, whose population had recently exploded, were blamed as instigators. Anesthesiologist and polymath Snow doubted this miasma theory and through data, showed through data that outbreaks were fairly limited to users of a water pump on Broad Street. He died before his theory was vindicated by a clergyman. After the pump was closed and the epidemic was halted, Whitehead managed to trace the case of patient-zero back to a cesspool infected with human wastes communicating with the well. This occurred before the microscope fully connected Vibro cholerae with the illness.
Today, with microscopes and sewage systems, cholera outbreaks are known to be simple to identify and contain. The fecal-oral route simply needs to be stopped – as was done through the closing of the Broad Street pump. This knowledge allowed cities to build a foundation wherein their dense populations could flourish and become healthier. This helped cities grow towards the modern situation where cities house most of human population.
Overall, Johnson’s story engages, entertains, and educates. This work addresses audiences interested in public health, history, and the progress of science. It is especially suitable for advanced high school and college students as it makes the act of knowledge acquisition come alive. More Snows and Whiteheads from many walks of life can be inspired by their observations.
One criticism of this work is evoked: The epilogue manages to ramble off course. Instead of focusing on the impact of this event, Johnson focuses on cities’ place in contemporary world worries (like nuclear warfare, the swine flu, and bioterrorism). He tries to tie these back to the history, but ranges too far from the central storyline to prove helpful. These ramblings seem filled with vague and unfocused anxiety rather than proscriptive progress.
The Ghost Map: The Story of London’s Most Terrifying Epidemic–and How It Changed Science, Cities, and the Modern World
By Steven Johnson
Copyright (c) 2007
Riverhead Books
ISBN13 9781594482694
Audiobook
Genre: History of Science
www.amazon.com