Viruses, Plagues, and History

The author's writing is clear and authoritative. This work adds an important contribution to the available literature and presents an interesting timeline that shows why the names of these diseases have become part of everyday language. * F.W. Yow, emeritus, Kenyon College, CHOICE *
From his account of how smallpox devastated native Indian populations, facilitating the Spanish conquest of Mexico and Peru, to his discussion of the effect of measles on Civil War troops, [Oldstone] makes a solid case...[His] book is sprinkled with good anecdotes. * The New York Times Book Review *
The book, written by an expert virologist and immunologist who has spent his life researching how viruses infect cells, is a superb overview of the viral infections that have afflicted humanity. Oldstone's encyclopedic knowledge of the history of this subject adds a unique dimension to this book, which is also thoroughly researched and extensively referenced for readers who want to read the original sources. * Arpan K. Banerjee, MBBS (LOND), FRCP, FRCR, FBIR, Hektoen International Journal *
Concise, telling accounts of the most dreaded viral epidemic diseases and of the virologists who pioneered their identification, pathogenesis, and prevention…Accessible reading for the non-specialist. * Science *
All educated people need to have some understanding of what viruses are and how we deal with them. [This book] provides us with a very timely and accessible account of the way that these minute parasites have influenced civilization. * Peter Doherty, 1996 Nobel Laureate in Medicine *
Scholarly documentation, sprinkled with fascinating vignettes, of the enormous progress made against viral diseases which have taken more lives than all the wars… A must read for non-scientists and policy makers. * Abner Louis Notkins, National Institutes of Health *
The book brings together not just a description of these diseases and how they have affected our history and behavior, but also narrates the search for the causative agents, explaining how they are transmitted, how research lead to development of vaccines... Overall this is an excellent book which I heartily recommend to a wide readership. * Geoffrey L. Smith, University of Oxford *
In Viruses, Plagues, & History, Michael B.A. Oldstone brilliantly combines a scientific and human insight to bring to vivid life humanity's struggles with these deadly forces... those that have been conquered such as smallpox and yellow fever, and today's scourges such as Ebola and AIDS. * Cambridge Research Reading Room *
This highly readable account describes a number of the most interesting and significant episodes in the history of virology and viral diseases. * Neal Nathanson, University of Pennsylvania *
Oldstone's love of history and scholarship as well as his wisdom and hands-on knowledge of science makes this book engrossing. Everyone from the interested laymen to the infectious disease expert will enjoy his timely accounting of man's battles with viruses that can kill. This is today's version of DeKruif's Microbe Hunters. * Thomas C. Merigan, Stanford University *
The book...is a superb overview of the viral infections that have afflicted humanity. Oldstone's encyclopedic knowledge of the history of this subject adds a unique dimension to this book, which is also thoroughly researched and extensively referenced for readers who want to read the original sources. * Arpan Banerjee, Hektoen International Journal *