Ever since we started huddling together in communities, the story of human history has been inextricably entwined with the story of microbes. They have evolved and spread amongst us, shaping our culture through infection, disease, and pandemic. At the same time, our changing human culture has itself influenced the evolutionary path of microbes. Dorothy H. Crawford here shows that one cannot be truly understood without the other. Beginning with a dramatic account of the SARS pandemic at the start of the 21st century, she takes us back in time to follow the interlinked history of microbes and man, taking an up-to-date look at ancient plagues and epidemics, and identifying key changes in the way humans have lived - such as our move from hunter-gatherer to farmer to city-dweller - which made us vulnerable to microbe attack. Showing how we live our lives today - with increasing crowding and air travel - puts us once again at risk, Crawford asks whether we might ever conquer microbes completely, or whether we need to take a more microbe-centric view of the world. Among the possible answers, one thing becomes clear: that for generations to come, our deadly companions will continue to shape human history.
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Lucid and authoritative... crisply written narrative. (Wendy Moore, Sunday Telegraph)
Fascinating... Deadly Companions is authoritative, detailed and - despite its gruesome subject - never sensational. (PD Smith, The Guardian)
Fascinating... Deadly Companions is authoritative, detailed and - despite its gruesome subject - never sensational. (PD Smith, The Guardian)
About the Author
Dorothy Crawford is Professor of Medical Microbiology at the University of Edinburgh, where she is also Assistant Principal for the Public Understanding of Medicine. She was awarded an OBE in 2005 for services to medicine and higher education.
Books by the same author:
The Invisible Enemy: A Natural History of Viruses
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Most Helpful Customer Reviews
8 of 8 people found the following review helpful
Format:Paperback
Professor Crawford presents us with a very readable introduction to infectious diseases and how they have influenced human history and development. The book begins with a brief description of bacterial evolution and how they evolved to infect animals, including humans. We learn that the beginning of agriculture enabled cross-species transfer from livestock to humans, and that many common infectious diseases share a common ancestor with animal infectious agents. This is true, for example of the SARS (Sudden Acute Respiratory Syndrome) virus, whose natural host is the Civot cat. There is a very brief but helpful introduction to epidemiological modelling. I would have liked at bit more detail on this, but it's not a major problem.
Parasites are given a good mention. The various types of Malaria species are discussed, and their interaction with humans across the generations are mentioned. I was fascinated by the section on the Schistosome fluke. The causative agent of sleeping sickness, Trypanosoma Brucei Brucei, is included.
The great plagues of history (Anthens, Antonine, Justinian, Black Death and the Renaissance plauge) are given a good mention. A discussion of whether the Black Death was caused by Yersinia Pestis was present, although I though this could have been done in greater depth.
A good thing was the inclusion of the Irish Potato Famine, and thus the point was well made that non-human infectious agents can have a devastating effect on humans. This illustrated the point that all organisms on the Earth are in a delicate balance, which is something that must be considered when planning for future societies etc.
The book ends with chapters on how infections can be treated and problems that have arisen with respect to antibiotic resistance. Possible novel solutions to this arising from genomic analysis are briefly mentioned.
This books presents a brief but valuable introduction to infectious diseases.
Parasites are given a good mention. The various types of Malaria species are discussed, and their interaction with humans across the generations are mentioned. I was fascinated by the section on the Schistosome fluke. The causative agent of sleeping sickness, Trypanosoma Brucei Brucei, is included.
The great plagues of history (Anthens, Antonine, Justinian, Black Death and the Renaissance plauge) are given a good mention. A discussion of whether the Black Death was caused by Yersinia Pestis was present, although I though this could have been done in greater depth.
A good thing was the inclusion of the Irish Potato Famine, and thus the point was well made that non-human infectious agents can have a devastating effect on humans. This illustrated the point that all organisms on the Earth are in a delicate balance, which is something that must be considered when planning for future societies etc.
The book ends with chapters on how infections can be treated and problems that have arisen with respect to antibiotic resistance. Possible novel solutions to this arising from genomic analysis are briefly mentioned.
This books presents a brief but valuable introduction to infectious diseases.
11 of 12 people found the following review helpful
By GRIPER
Format:Hardcover
This would be an excellent work were it not for the careless historical errors.Prof Crawford seems to think for example that the little ice age began in 1450 and that British rule in India ended in 2007.It would be tedious to list all the mistakes,so just take page 79 where the author mixes up Justinian & Constantine and apparently thinks that the western Roman Empire still existed in the former' s time.Was this book checked by a historian at all ? The poor grasp of elementary historial fact is a great pity,otherwise this book would deserve high marks
7 of 8 people found the following review helpful
By Bluebell
TOP 50 REVIEWER
Format:Hardcover|Amazon Verified Purchase
The author is a professor of microbiology who has written an excellent book for the lay-person interested in the struggle between microbes and humans. It's partly a history of the ever-changing balance between the two from early man as a hunter/gatherer to modern urbane life. She makes it very clear how the development of agriculture and the gathering together of people into towns has increased our vulnerability to a greater range of organisms.
At times it reads almost like a war as viruses, bacteria and fungi rapidly mutate and sometimes collaborate to defeat our immune systems. I have a biological background but learned a lot about the latest microbiological research which is revealing just how well these microbes are doing in infecting us to their benefit. After reading this book I feel more alarmed at just how vulnerable we are to new microbes evolving with lethal power, but it also made me think more about how to avoid helping them by,for example, taking unnecessary antibiotics or failing to complete a course of treatment.
At times it reads almost like a war as viruses, bacteria and fungi rapidly mutate and sometimes collaborate to defeat our immune systems. I have a biological background but learned a lot about the latest microbiological research which is revealing just how well these microbes are doing in infecting us to their benefit. After reading this book I feel more alarmed at just how vulnerable we are to new microbes evolving with lethal power, but it also made me think more about how to avoid helping them by,for example, taking unnecessary antibiotics or failing to complete a course of treatment.
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Most Recent Customer Reviews
3.0 out of 5 stars
Disappointing
Most of this book consists of a series of vignettes concerning particular diseases or epidemics, from Classical plagues and smallpox to cholera, tuberculosis and AIDS. Read more
Published 9 months ago by Plastic Mars
5.0 out of 5 stars
How germs made our history
An interesting mixture of cultural history of humanity and how it was affected by microbes and plagues. Read more
Published on 17 Sep 2009 by Tammam Aloudat
3.0 out of 5 stars
Not quite dull
History is full of fascinating stories of how infectious diseases have impacted upon the course of human history. Read more
Published on 4 Mar 2008 by Gavin
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