The ghost map : the story of London's most terrifying epidemic-- and how it changed science, cities, and the modern world / Steven Johnson.
Material type:
TextPublication details: New York : Riverhead Books, c2007.Description: 299 p. : ill., map ; 21 cmISBN: - 1594482691
- 9781594482694
| Item type | Home library | Collection | Call number | Materials specified | Status | Date due | Barcode | Item holds | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Adult Book
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Dr. James Carlson Library | NonFiction | 614.514 J69 | Available | 33111005405077 |
Enhanced descriptions from Syndetics:
A National Bestseller, a New York Times Notable Book, and an Entertainment Weekly Best Book of the Year from the author of Extra Life
"By turns a medical thriller, detective story, and paean to city life, Johnson's account of the outbreak and its modern implications is a true page-turner." -- The Washington Post
"Thought-provoking." --Entertainment Weekly
It's the summer of 1854, and London is just emerging as one of the first modern cities in the world. But lacking the infrastructure-garbage removal, clean water, sewers-necessary to support its rapidly expanding population, the city has become the perfect breeding ground for a terrifying disease no one knows how to cure. As the cholera outbreak takes hold, a physician and a local curate are spurred to action-and ultimately solve the most pressing medical riddle of their time.
In a triumph of multidisciplinary thinking, Johnson illuminates the intertwined histories of the spread of disease, the rise of cities, and the nature of scientific inquiry, offering both a riveting history and a powerful explanation of how it has shaped the world we live in.
Includes bibliographical references and index.
Monday, August 28, the night-soil men -- Saturday, September 2, eyes sunk, lips dark blue -- Sunday, September 3, the investigator -- Monday, September 4, that is to say, Jo has not yet died -- Tuesday, September 5, all smell is disease -- Wednesday, September 6, building the case -- Friday, September 8, the pump handle -- Conclusion: Ghost map -- Epilogue: Broad street revisited -- Appendix: Notes on further reading.
The Ghost Map takes place in the summer of 1854. A devastating cholera outbreak seizes London just as it is emerging as a modern city: more than 2 million people packed into a ten-mile circumference, a hub of travel and commerce, teeming with people from all over the world, continually pushing the limits of infrastructure that's outdated as soon as it's updated. Dr. John Snow-whose ideas about contagion had been dismissed by the scientific community-is spurred to intense action when the people in his neighborhood begin dying. [In this book, the author] chronicles Snow's day-by-day efforts, as he risks his own life to prove how the epidemic is being spread. When he creates the map that traces the pattern of outbreak back to its source, Dr. Snow didn't just solve the most pressing medical riddle of his time. He ultimately established a precedent for the way modern city-dwellers, city planners, physicians, and public officials think about the spread of disease and the development of the modern urban environment. [The book] is an endlessly compelling and utterly gripping account of that London summer of 1854, from the microbial level to the macrourban-theory level-including, most important, the human level. -http://www.booksinprint.com