Rating: 
Summary: Very good overview of the history of infectious diseases
Review: After "Plagues and peoples", a classical book by William McNeill that first appeared in 1975, I read this book, which was first published in 1995. The contents are more or less the same, but Arno Karlen has a more modern style of writing, making this book more readable. Even though the last chapters give at times a somewhat alarmist view of what we are heading for, the author gives a very good overview of the history of infectious diseases and also the "epidemic of epidemics" as he calls it which is happening right now: from AIDS to SARS and from West Nile virus to the return with a vengeance of tuberculosis. Due to the enormous population pressure, human mobility and the ever increasing demands we make on our environment, new diseases and their rapid spread are only a breath away.When one reads this book, it also becomes obvious how fast both the diseases and the medical science that has to fight them are developing: SARS was (of course) nowhere in sight in 1995 and the origin of prion diseases like mad cows' disease (which we now know is caused by the alteration of a protein that is always present in the brain) was still very uncertain at time. This book still is a very smooth read and definitely worth your time if you are interested in infectious diseases and their history.
Rating:
Summary: A Fascinating and Frightening History of Disease
Review: Arno Karlen's "Man and Microbes" is an informative and well-written account of the history of disease that is accessible to specialists and non-specialists alike. It is well-researched and it is written in the natural style of a storyteller. Karlen covers a wide span of time, starting off about five million years ago when our ancestors descended from the trees to the ground and finishing in the 1990s. He looks at a range of diseases, including the Mystery Disase of Pudoc, influenza, Lyme Disease, and AIDS, and looks at them through the themes of change (changes in environment, technology, interaction/behavior, lifestyle) and adaptation (human adaptation to disease and vice versa). Karlen ends the book on a hopeful note, and reminds the reader that while history shows so many instances of disease it also shows many instances of humans adapting to and dealing with disease. I was a little initimidated about reading this book, since I have a pathetic knowledge of science. However, I found the book very readable and I can honestly say that I have a greater appreciation for science and for the human ability to survive after having read the book. A must-read!
Rating:
Summary: A Fascinating and Frightening History of Disease
Review: Arno Karlen's "Man and Microbes" is an informative and well-written account of the history of disease that is accessible to specialists and non-specialists alike. It is well-researched and it is written in the natural style of a storyteller. Karlen covers a wide span of time, starting off about five million years ago when our ancestors descended from the trees to the ground and finishing in the 1990s. He looks at a range of diseases, including the Mystery Disase of Pudoc, influenza, Lyme Disease, and AIDS, and looks at them through the themes of change (changes in environment, technology, interaction/behavior, lifestyle) and adaptation (human adaptation to disease and vice versa). Karlen ends the book on a hopeful note, and reminds the reader that while history shows so many instances of disease it also shows many instances of humans adapting to and dealing with disease. I was a little initimidated about reading this book, since I have a pathetic knowledge of science. However, I found the book very readable and I can honestly say that I have a greater appreciation for science and for the human ability to survive after having read the book. A must-read!
Rating: 
Summary: Thought Provoking: A Germ's Point of View
Review: Arno Karlen's attempt to chronicle the successes and failures of man's quest to survive in a world in which he is constantly battling with disease, results in an engaging and fairly easy to read book. The author explains how man and microbes share the environments they have lived in throughout history on all parts of this planet. This symbiotic coexistence has resulted in mutation, adaptation and even the destruction of sometimes man, sometimes microbe, and even sometimes both! The author succeeds in engaging the attention of the reader and keeping his or her interest from page to page. The author's method of presenting the challenges faced by many people in this world throughout history, and leading us up to the modern era, succeeds in engaging the reader from the very first chapter. The opening account of the incipient yet monumental role that disease has played throughout the history of mankind, rivets the reader's attention. He presents an account of the struggle for existence by not only the human race, but also by the millions of tiny organisms whose existence naturally pits them against that of the existence of man. Additionally, Mr. Karlen does a fairly decent job of explaining to the reader why certain microbes survived in what would appear to be "harsh" environments, while others succumbed to the elements in relatively mild ones. He then leads the reader through the modern onslaught of infectious diseases such as tuberculosis, malaria and HIV\AIDS, and chronicles how man has fared in his fight against disease. This helps the reader to understand the historical context of these events and how these tiny organisms essentially "shaped" the outcomes of many significant events in world history. The author presents his main argument first by effectively painting a frightening picture of today's reality of man's fight with microbes, followed by a detailed chronology of the historical battles between organism, the environment, and man. The author then skillfully concludes with an implicit warning to us, which leaves a lasting effect of wondering when and where the next onslaught of infectious disease will appear. The fact that the overall health of the world's population has improved over the past several centuries is cause for guarded optimism. However, the author presents many examples throughout history where Mother Nature, sensing an imbalance between her natural resources and the inhabitants of this planet, has "leveled the playing field" by introducing an infectious disease that has resulted in a massive "die off" of humans (The Great Plague, Cholera Pandemics, etc). The author utilizes his expertise in pharmacology and biology to explain to the reader how researchers have been able to determine how people in the past lived and died. Using such techniques as carbon dating and examining the human remains of mummified individuals, we have been able to determine that man's earliest ancestors had a life span of about forty, and suffered a harsh life riddled with hunting accidents and disease. We have also learned how the lifestyle, diet and environment served as determinants of whether man would survive in a certain region or not. Much has been learned from the refuse piles and discarded wastes that our ancestors left behind! The old adage, which comes to mind, is "One man's garbage is another's treasure"! Mr. Karlen explains this quite well and gives the reader avid examples. Man and Microbes is not only a "must" read for all health professionals and those aspiring to become one, but it is also for everyone who has the slightest bit of interest in the interaction between man and his environment. The insights and perspectives that the author elicits in the reader cause one to truly catch what he terms "the medical school student disease": a subtle realization of how vulnerable we really are in our environment! This is a fundamental book, which serves to educate not only the health professional, but the general public as well. He does an excellent job in describing to the reader how vulnerable we currently are to the spread of influenza, or other infectious disease which we would be wholly susceptible to. His use of historical events to forewarn us of the dangers we as a population currently face, is quite effective. A potential weakness of this book lies in the author's use of technical terms and medical "jargon". Although this reader understood his presentation, in the field of medicine infectious disease study it is very difficult to avoid highly technical terms and concepts. His description of some of the disease pathologies in humans and animals and how they have evolved and adapted to their changing environments, was at times, entirely too difficult to comprehend. Unless one already possesses a rudimentary knowledge of human anatomy and disease pathology, a reader may have to re-read certain sections for clarity, and even visit a medical dictionary to gain a better appreciation for what the author is try to communicate. This book's main strength comes from its detail-rich accounting of those historical events in world epidemiological history such as the Black Death of the early 14th Century, the numerous Cholera Pandemics that have swept across the world, and the HIV/AIDS pandemic, which is currently wreaking havoc in places such as Sub-Saharan Africa, Asia and Latin America. Mr. Karlen appears to be an absolute subject matter expert in the field, and one who has "walked the walk" and not just "talked the talk." He does an absolutely superb job in capturing the reader's attention and instilling in him the knowledge acquired through years of experience. I highly recommend this book to anyone even remotely interested in the area of infectious disease, our environment, and challenges facing mankind in the future.
Rating:
Summary: Great Intro, But Lacking in the Details -
Review: First and foremost, this book is an oustanding, fantastic introduction to the world of infectious diseases. Because of two factors, however, much informatoin is lost. Firstly, the book is rather short - hardly three hundred pages. Secondly, there are thousands of years to cover in such a volume. As a result, the reader is left with a superficial - albeit insightful - look at the history of diseases throughout history.
Karlen attempts - and succeeds, as best as expected - to do three things in this book. He begins by discussing the disease, or outbreak, at hand. Syphilis, tuberculosis, legionnaire's, marberg, ebola are all covered - en brief. Then, he goes on to elaborate on the social climate of the time, to set a context for the reader. He then discusses the impact that these diseases had on thepopulace.
As a personal fiend of specific, explicit writings on the physiological results of diseases, I was somewhat disappointed: AIDs is hardly discussed, and the physical descriptions and onsets are scant, if existant. However, Karlen's adept critical thinking - he analyzes the social impact, etc of each outbreak - makes this book worthwhile.
Overall, a good introduction. I kept notes through this book on topics that I was interested in exploring further, and was not disappointed.
Rating:
Summary: Great Examination of Disease and History
Review: In Arno Karlen's "Man and Microbes", history is approached through the relationship of disease to mankind, starting with the first humans to the present. This is a fascinating examination of the microscopic world's impact on the macroscopic world. The origins of some diseases, such as cholera, the 'black plague' and AIDS is covered, as well as epidemics affecting only small parts of the world. Throughout the book, it is emphasized that we could be on the brink of new pandemics -- the most obvious example is AIDS -- that will not only dramatically reduce population, but change our world view and lifestyle. Modern pandemics and our responses to them are compared and contrasted to past pandemics, with the resulting opinion that although we live in a technologically savvy world, our reactions of fear and panic have not changed all that much. My only minor criticism by the last quarter of the book is too much repetition; I found my mind wandering and was a little confused by the end. However, I think that this is an excellent book for those interested in interdisciplinary (biology and history) studies.
Rating:
Summary: A disease progress report at the end of the 20th Century
Review: Published in the UK as 'Plague's Progress: A Social History of Man and Disease', Karlen provides the reader here with an excellent introduction to the topic of the natural, as well as social history of the most common human life-threatening diseases. Covered here are all the usual (as well as some more unusual) suspects, from mediaeval plagues to AIDS and CJD; from soldiers not warring due to disease outbreak, to war outbreak being signalled by disease. Although there are some one-liners for conspiracy theorists with regards man-made disease vectors, the principal thesis of this book is that new pandemic and epidemic outbreaks of disease result from changes in human and other microbe host behaviours and the situated environment(s) in which these changes take place. For example, changes in land usage, habitat (as much in the 'home' as in the field), species interactions, development & redevelopment, etc.., necessarily give rise to novel ecological niches available for exploitation by any number of host/pathogenic organisms and disease vector transmission pathways. Karlen is correct to further emphasise the point that such opportunist developments and novel disease situations arise from constructive events (aircraft transportation of secondary hosts, air-conditioner habitats and overuse of antibiotics) as much as from destructive events (deforestation and animal extintions give rise to traditional host-parasite species shifts). A useful summary table is provided of the time-line of recent life-threatening contagious diseases, but I found myself annotating the margin with a few more details concerning each (e.g., secondary host - rodent, cattle, insect; virus/bacteria/protozoan organism etc) - all of which was nonetheless available in the text of the book. Although a delicate subject for those suffering from any of the conditions described here (both directly and by atives/carers nearby), Karlen presents both an informative and entertaining dialogue for the newcomer to the topic of disease - clearly accessible and in non-technical language for the lay reader looking for a clearer understanding of a life-threatening phenomena that is likely to always be with us in some form. If I were to have any grumbles, they would relate solely to a few of my own particular interests in a couple of theories given short thrift here. Such might include exposures to man-made/altered disease vectors (cf: Moreno; whether they be designed for plant, insect or human control via innoculation) and the theories put forward by writers such as Lyn Margulis (symbiotic evolution) and the more esoteric writings of Hoyle & Wickramasinge or Francis Crick. So much better informed concerning the role of natural, political and historical events influencing pandemic and epidemic disease evolution, following our reading of this Kaplan book one might be in a better position to explain our forgetting of the 1918 flu pandemic, the last widespread disease within living memory, taking a total number of lives far greater than the toll of the last century's World Wars combined. How, and whether, such information will be used to manage the future of our social behaviour, demography, medical practice, and our continuing scientific research culture, we must await the coming years to find out. References: Crick: Life Itself. Hoyle & Wickramasinge: Diseases from Space; Evolution from Space. Margulis & Fester: Symbiosis as a source of Evolutionary Innovation. Margulis & Sagan: Microcosmos. Moreno: Undue Risk.
Rating:
Summary: "In the city, famine and pestilence shall devour him"
Review: So the author of revelation saw the lethal side of cities (quoted on page 48), or as Mr Arno Karlen better describes-"as farmers and villagers began crowding into cities, this immunologically virgin mass offered a feast to germs lurking in domesticated animals, wastes, filth, and scavengers" (page 48). This book provides a reasonable overview of germs and social history. Mr Karlen traces the development of agriculture and cities to the development of 'crowd diseases', jumping ship from previous group species such as horses, pigs, ducks, rats, etc, or mutating from previously benign forms, or appearing and diappearing from nowhere, leaving little trace. As far as other species influence goes-that old friend the dog is suggested to have contributed no less than 65 diseases to homo sapien (page 39), with 45 from cattle, and 35 fom horses. The reader will find discussion on the likely origins and developments of eg measles (possibly from distemper in dogs, although Diamond in the book "Guns Germs and Steel" suggests cattle), smallpox (dogs or cattle), influenza (pigs and ducks), common cold (horses?), scarlet fever, typhus, bubonic plague (fleas), syphilis, gonorrhea, cholera (lives in water), AIDS (probably chimps), malaria (mosquito), tuberculosis, leprosy, legionaires disease, and a host of others. Various historical calamities are described such as: - Athens which lost 1 in 3 people in 430 BC, (unknown- possibly measles, typhoid, scarlet fever, smallpox), and which ended the so-called 'golden age' of Greece.
-AD 164-180+ Roman empire-4-7 million deaths, (probably smallpox),
-540 AD+ bubonic plague-halving Europes population over the next 150 years,
-200 BC to 200 AD smallpox and measles ravaged China and Japan (many other times also),
-several waves-657-1551 AD-"sweating sickness" (appears to have gone extinct),
-AD 125- 1 million deaths in north Africa alone (?measles)
-AD 79 Rome-Anthrax, or possibly malaria
-later 20 century-present-AIDS, -millions and climbing,
-1348-1352 AD bubonic plague, with several waves- 25 million plus in Europe, more in the east,
-1800s- several waves-cholera and yellow fever in Europe,
-1492-1800s+-Americas estimated 90 million deaths of indigenous populations,
-1918, influenza-around 40 million.
-many others. Older calamities are often less well documented in eg Africa, India, China, etc. 20th century examples are many, often small, and often a 'new' disease-eg page 6 lists a partial list of around 20 'new' diseases in latter 20 century outbreaks, including ebola and legionaires. Readers will be interested to read of the social changes which were influenced by many of these outbreaks, such as the tragic conquest of the Europeans into the Americas, and the decline of the Roman Empire-partly due to successive ravages of various plagues. As the empire expanded it brought back numerous germs, something which was forgotten by the time partly immune explorers brought them again to other lands in the second millenium AD. Modern examples and resurgences are also discussed such as Lyme disease, mad cow disease, AIDS, tuberculosis, malaria, legionaires, etc. Most diseases tend to decline over time as a population becomes immune, (eg Syphilis, since about 1492) but a few seem to go the other way-eg polio and tuberculosis-ie they increase in severity. Modern examples which make medical specialists nervous in the modern age are also described, such as hantaviruses, ebola, TB, hepatitus, AIDS -especially of mutation, and malaria, but there are a host of others. The thing I find fascinating, and sad about this book, is the complexity of the immune system, and how these diseases originate and proliferate. Many have jumped from other species, some have always been with us- but ocassionally mutate into a virulent form. Some have always been around in water or elsewhere, and mutute/evolve occassionally -like Legionaires disease. It is an ever-present war, and one which has greatly influenced history. The book provides a stark analysis of human history and the ruthlessness of life with germs, but despite the general negativity of this book, one must also appreciate how far we have come, and in how many ways we succeed against these diseases, and continue to succeed. New diseases are inevitable, but Ridley suggests in the book "Disease" that the future may well be in DNA vaccines. One can only hope. One disapppointment is the lack of deeper medical explanation on eg how diseases function, and why some are more effective than others, and various aspects of the immune system etc. There is a distinct lack of deeper medical analysis, for those like myself who want a deeper medical investigation. Recommended for those who are interested in how sickness has affected history, but not so much *why* we get sick, in any great detail.
Rating:
Summary: A good read on an important topic, but lacking in detail
Review: The author presents a convincing series of anecdotes to support his hypothesis that many infectious diseases result from environmental and cultural changes. This postulate is very topical given the recent experience with SARS. It is an enjoyable read, most suitable for a lay person looking for a general overview of infectious diseases in human history. On the other hand, the covereage of individual diseases is very shallow. Those interested in an in depth analysis of the history of a given disease should look elsewhere.
Rating:
Summary: A Microbe Primer!
Review: This book briefly sketches plagues and infectious diseases, from ancient times and of earliest recorded writings, to the present day (1995). Some terrible times for humanity are included in this book, such as when 5000 people a day were dying in Rome around A.D. 251-266 from perhaps measles or smallpox plague, to present day AIDS. Arno Karlen writes in a style very easy to read. The science in this book seems to be excellent, you can learn a lot about how diseases are spread, from animals and insects to us, and between people, and how diseases mutate over time and people adapt to them so they are sometimes less virulent later than when first encountered. Also covered is how diseases are spread thru behavior and when man alters his environment, two examples being cities and agriculture. Many diseases are covered in this volume, if you are interested in reading more about any individual disease there are books on just about any one of them to learn more.
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