A History of the World in Six Plagues - How Contagion, Class and Captivity Shape Us, from Cholera to Covid-19

A deeply reported, insightful, and literary account of humankind''s battles with epidemic disease and their outsized role in deepening inequality along racial, ethnic, class and gender lines. Epidemic diseases enter the world by chance, but they become catastrophic by human design. With clear-eyed research and lush prose, A History of the World in Six Plagues shows that throughout history, outbreaks of disease have been exacerbated by and gone on to further expand the racial, economic and sociopolitical divides we allow to fester in times of good health. Princeton-trained historian Edna Bonhomme''s examination of humanity''s disastrous treatment of pandemic disease takes us across place and time from Port-au-Prince to Tanzania, and from plantation-era America to our modern COVID-19-scarred world to unravel shocking truths about the patterns of discrimination in the face of disease. Based on in-depth research and cultural analysis, Bonhomme explores Cholera, HIV/AIDS, the Spanish Flu, Sleeping Sickness, Ebola, and COVID-19 amidst the backdrop of unequal public policy. But much more than a remarkable history, A History of the World in Six Plagues is also a rising call for change.

Product details

• Authors: Edna Bonhomme
• Assisted by: Layne Priscilla (Translation)
• Publisher: Little Brown
• Languages: English
• Product format: Hardback
• Released: 21.03.2024
• EAN: 9780349704364
• ISBN: 978-0-349-70436-4
• No. of pages: 320
• Dimensions: 160 mm x 234 mm x 30 mm
• Subjects: Humanities, art, music > History > Cultural history; Non-fiction book > History > Miscellaneous; SOCIAL SCIENCE / Disasters & Disaster Relief, SOCIAL SCIENCE / Disease & Health Issues, HISTORY / Social History, Social & cultural history, Social and cultural history, Social impact of disasters, Epidemiology and Medical statistics, History: plagues, diseases, famines, Social impact of disasters / accidents (natural or man-made)