Jonathan Kennedy
$30.00
$20.99
/
Sale
Sold Out
Pathogenesis: A History of the World in Eight Plagues -- Jonathan Kennedy, Hardcover
Shipping calculated at checkout.
A sweeping look at how the major transformations in history--from the rise of Homo sapiens to the birth of capitalism--have been shaped not by humans but by germs "I love this surprising, learned, fascinating book; it brings human arrogance into sharp relief, reminding us that the real masters of the universe are microbes."--Cal Flyn, author of Islands of Abandonment
ONE OF THE MOST ANTICIPATED BOOKS OF 2023: The Washington Post, Lit Hub According to the accepted narrative of progress, humans have thrived thanks to their brains and brawn, collectively bending the arc of history. But in this revelatory book, Professor Jonathan Kennedy argues that the myth of human exceptionalism overstates the role that we play in social and political change. Instead, it is the humble microbe that wins wars and topples empires. Drawing on the latest research in fields ranging from genetics and anthropology to archaeology and economics, Pathogenesis takes us through sixty thousand years of history, exploring eight major outbreaks of infectious disease that have made the modern world. Bacteria and viruses were protagonists in the demise of the Neanderthals, the growth of Islam, the transition from feudalism to capitalism, the devastation wrought by European colonialism, and the evolution of the United States from an imperial backwater to a global superpower. Even Christianity rose to prominence in the wake of a series of deadly pandemics that swept through the Roman Empire in the second and third centuries: Caring for the sick turned what was a tiny sect into one of the world's major religions. By placing disease at the center of his wide-ranging history of humankind, Kennedy challenges some of the most fundamental assumptions about our collective past--and urges us to view this moment as another disease-driven inflection point that will change the course of history. Provocative and brimming with insight, Pathogenesis transforms our understanding of the human story.
Author: Jonathan Kennedy
Publisher: Crown Publishing Group (NY)
Published: 04/18/2023
Pages: 304
Binding Type: Hardcover
Weight: 1.15lbs
Size: 9.29h x 5.98w x 1.18d
ISBN: 9780593240472
Review Citation(s):
Library Journal Prepub Alert 10/01/2022 pg. 15
Publishers Weekly 01/23/2023
Kirkus Reviews 04/15/2023
ONE OF THE MOST ANTICIPATED BOOKS OF 2023: The Washington Post, Lit Hub According to the accepted narrative of progress, humans have thrived thanks to their brains and brawn, collectively bending the arc of history. But in this revelatory book, Professor Jonathan Kennedy argues that the myth of human exceptionalism overstates the role that we play in social and political change. Instead, it is the humble microbe that wins wars and topples empires. Drawing on the latest research in fields ranging from genetics and anthropology to archaeology and economics, Pathogenesis takes us through sixty thousand years of history, exploring eight major outbreaks of infectious disease that have made the modern world. Bacteria and viruses were protagonists in the demise of the Neanderthals, the growth of Islam, the transition from feudalism to capitalism, the devastation wrought by European colonialism, and the evolution of the United States from an imperial backwater to a global superpower. Even Christianity rose to prominence in the wake of a series of deadly pandemics that swept through the Roman Empire in the second and third centuries: Caring for the sick turned what was a tiny sect into one of the world's major religions. By placing disease at the center of his wide-ranging history of humankind, Kennedy challenges some of the most fundamental assumptions about our collective past--and urges us to view this moment as another disease-driven inflection point that will change the course of history. Provocative and brimming with insight, Pathogenesis transforms our understanding of the human story.
Author: Jonathan Kennedy
Publisher: Crown Publishing Group (NY)
Published: 04/18/2023
Pages: 304
Binding Type: Hardcover
Weight: 1.15lbs
Size: 9.29h x 5.98w x 1.18d
ISBN: 9780593240472
Review Citation(s):
Library Journal Prepub Alert 10/01/2022 pg. 15
Publishers Weekly 01/23/2023
Kirkus Reviews 04/15/2023
About the Author
Jonathan Kennedy teaches politics and global health at Queen Mary University of London. He has a PhD in sociology from the University of Cambridge.
Product Tags:
Crown Publishing Group (NY), Disease & Health Issues, Diseases and history, Geopolitics, Hardcover, History, History - General History, Jonathan Kennedy, Political Science, Social Science, World
Contact form
Fill this out if you need to get in touch with me!