Angel of Death is alively and powerful account of our battle against smallpox, the only disease that mankind has successfully eradicated from the planet. By weaving previously unrecorded voices in with the personal experiences of colourful historical figures such as Lady Mary Wortley Montagu and Edward Jenner, Gareth Williams brings alive one of the most exciting success stories in the history of medicine. His book also gives original and engaging insights into the anti-vaccination campaigns which remain active today, and into the many unlearned lessons of smallpox. Angel of Death will appeal to all those moved by the excitement of discovery and stories of people fighting against adversity, and to anyone interested in history or medicine.
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Shortlisted for the Wellcome Trust Book Prize 2010
'Williams recounts the history of smallpox in a breezy, accessible style.' - Clive Anderson, New Scientist
'This extraordinary book brings alive the sheer horrors of smallpox and how mankind has managed to wipe it out using vaccination, pioneered by a Gloucestershire country doctor in 1796. This history has a very modern message, and this book needs to be read by everyone interested in public health today.'
- Mark Horton, presenter of BBC TV's Coast and Professor of Archaeology, University of Bristol
'The Angel of Death is a fascinating account of the most terrible disease to afflict mankind. Smallpox showed no mercy: the young, old, poor and royalty all equally at risk; whole societies almost wiped out in its inexorable wake. 2010 marks the 30th anniversary of its final eradication; Gareth Williams charts this compelling story with a plot that weaves seamlessly between cultures and centuries. Written in a wonderfully flowing and engaging style, this is a must read for all lovers of history. Highly relevant for today as the fight lives on to banish other deadly diseases from the world.'
- Sarah Parker, Director, Edward Jenner Museum, Gloucestershire, UK
'Filled with fascinating historical detail, this story resonates with contemporary concerns about epidemics and the fight against them. Gareth Williams effortlessly weaves together medical science writing and social history to tell the compelling tale of a battle against a deadly disease.'
- Alice Roberts, Research Fellow in Archaeology& Anthropology, University of Bristol, UK
'In lively prose with unpatronising insight into past medical dilemmas, he dramatises the scourge and its treatment first by variolation (immunisation with live smallpox virus) then vaccination, but also shows how controversial smallpox vaccination was during the 19th century.' - The Lancet
'...the author explores one of the most exciting success stories in the history of medicine. His book also gives original and engaging insights into the anti-vaccination campaigns which remain active today.' - The Guild of Health Writers
'...an engaging narrative, in which medical history is interweaved with social history and reflections on contemporary issues.' - BBC History Magazine
'Williams's account of our battle with the disease revisits historical accounts of its horrendous impact and the fascinating story of medical progress - including the pioneering use of vaccination by a country doctor in 1796 - and its relevance in the fight against modern epidemics.' - The Times
Wonderful. Wonderfully-researched, vividly-written, an example of medical history at its absolute best.' - Michael Neve
'Williams has managed to bring to life one of the most enthralling, life changing success stories in the history of medicine' - Laboratory News
'A breezy, accessible account by a professor of medicine.' - The Week
'...[a] well-documented book.' - CHOICE
Book Description
The story of smallpox, one of the most savage killers in the history of mankind, and the only disease ever to be successfully exterminated (30 years ago next year) by a public health campaign
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Most Helpful Customer Reviews
1 of 1 people found the following review helpful
Format:Hardcover|Amazon Verified Purchase
Many people know the story of Jenner, cowpox, and the birth of vaccination against smallpox. While that story plays a central role in this book, Gareth Williams gives it a great deal of context without which the history of vaccination cannot be understood. So the first third or so of the book gives us the history of variolation, the procedure of inoculating with smallpox itself, a practice common in different forms in different forms across the world (e.g. Africa, China, Turkey) and popularised in Britain by Lady Mary Wortley Montagu (who brought it from Istanbul) and then in the American Colonies by Cotton Mather (who was also involved in the Salem witch trials). Williams's book not only tells us about the history of smallpox before vaccination, and Jenner's discovery (and the disputes and battles surrounding it), but also the subsequent history of smallpox vaccination and resistance to it, up to the smallpox eradication campaign led by Donald Henderson.
This book is a joy to read. There is solid scholarship behind it, but this does not affect the writing style which is straightforward and engaging. The story of smallpox is a story of suffering and of discovery, it is also the storey of many compelling characters who come through vividly in this super book.
This book is a joy to read. There is solid scholarship behind it, but this does not affect the writing style which is straightforward and engaging. The story of smallpox is a story of suffering and of discovery, it is also the storey of many compelling characters who come through vividly in this super book.
1 of 1 people found the following review helpful
By paulus
Format:Hardcover|Amazon Verified Purchase
The story of a vision that became a reality. Gareth Williams dramatically brings to life the history of smallpox, its devastating effect across the world on both rich and poor through the centuries, and its eventual defeat. I did not know that, before Jenner invented the safe procedure of vaccination, people were prepared to go through the horrors of variolation which carried a real risk of death. They thought it a better bet than catching a disease which meant an agonising death for many and disfigurement for most of those who survived. Nor did I know that smallpox had its origins in a gerbil pox. Nor that Jenner receives far greater recognition for his contribution outside Britain than in his home country.
Once vaccination had been invented and proved effective, proponents had to fight off a backlash, not least from the medical profession which risked losing the lucrative business of administering the more complex and costly procedure of variolation. Anti-vaccination movements developed the strategies and rhetoric which live on in the 20th century with the attacks on the MMR vaccine.
An attempt to consign the idea of eradicating smallpox to the long grass by giving the task to an unlikely candidate failed. An underfunded worldwide organisation was cobbled together and, 30 years ago, was able to announce that there were no more cases in the wild. It puts to shame the many bureaucratic multi-national efforts, official and non-governmental, which are carried on today.
Williams ends his fascinating story by speculating on the dangers posed, in our unstable world, by the remaining stocks of smallpox virus which various governments have chosen to keep.
All this, and much, much more, awaits you in this exciting and compelling volume.
Once vaccination had been invented and proved effective, proponents had to fight off a backlash, not least from the medical profession which risked losing the lucrative business of administering the more complex and costly procedure of variolation. Anti-vaccination movements developed the strategies and rhetoric which live on in the 20th century with the attacks on the MMR vaccine.
An attempt to consign the idea of eradicating smallpox to the long grass by giving the task to an unlikely candidate failed. An underfunded worldwide organisation was cobbled together and, 30 years ago, was able to announce that there were no more cases in the wild. It puts to shame the many bureaucratic multi-national efforts, official and non-governmental, which are carried on today.
Williams ends his fascinating story by speculating on the dangers posed, in our unstable world, by the remaining stocks of smallpox virus which various governments have chosen to keep.
All this, and much, much more, awaits you in this exciting and compelling volume.
3 of 4 people found the following review helpful
Format:Hardcover
This is just the kind of book I enjoy most, in which history is learned effortlessly through the lives of extraordinary people. And there are many of those in this book, people from all walks of life and from all parts of the world, whose lives were transformed by smallpox in one way or another. Gareth Williams has dug deep into history to come up with this riveting book. I found it very difficult to put down. Highly recommended.
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Most Recent Customer Reviews
4.0 out of 5 stars
A good book about an interesting subject
The books provides a good review of our dealings with smallpox since it first appeared right up to its eradication and the possibility of reappearance of "The Angel". Read more
Published 12 months ago by R. A. Merrick
4.0 out of 5 stars
The Angel of Death
I'm in the middle of the book and so far fascinated. I'm not quite a scientific guy (primary teacher in Switzerland) and I like it a lot. Read more
Published 20 months ago by pedrocarnier
5.0 out of 5 stars
Good read
Was expecting this to be dry read and was pleasantly surprised by the style of narrative about what is, or more accurately was, an horrific disease.
Published on 8 Feb 2011 by F. M. Macey
5.0 out of 5 stars
Illuminating human behaviour
This was one of my best reads this year. It charts the many attempts to outwit the smallpox virus and protect humans against this universal killer. Read more
Published on 24 Dec 2010 by HilaryCustanceGreen
5.0 out of 5 stars
I agree with all the other reviewers!
I did plan to find my own words to review this book however the other reviewers have done such an excellent job of describing this wonderful work that I don't need to bother!
Published on 17 Nov 2010 by Mark Lloyd
5.0 out of 5 stars
Social history at its most gripping
As a non-medic, I was slightly nervous that the `story of smallpox' would be a heavy read. By the end of the first chapter these fears had been forgotten and I devoured the book at... Read more
Published on 14 Sep 2010 by cjt
4.0 out of 5 stars
History that still resonates
Smallpox was a disfiguring and often deadly disease. There has never been any cure. Nevertheless a rigorous World Health Organization campaign of mass vaccination, followed by... Read more
Published on 18 Aug 2010 by SJD
5.0 out of 5 stars
The Defeat of Smallpox
A magnificently written, comprehensive and superbly researched and illustrated account of the history of this ubiquitous and lethal disease which dominated and threatened the lives... Read more
Published on 6 July 2010 by Dr John
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