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Disease & History: From ancient times to Covid-19 Kindle Edition

by Frederick Fox Cartwright (Author) Format: Kindle Edition
4.1 4.1 out of 5 stars 484 ratings
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A newly updated edition of a classic in the history of medicine with information on Covid-19.

Arising from collaboration between a doctor and a historian, Disease and History offers the general reader a wide-ranging and accessible account of the ways in which disease has left its dramatic mark on the past.

It discusses the impact made by bubonic plague and other infections upon the ancient and medieval worlds; the likely role of syphilis in the careers of Henry VIII and Ivan the Terrible; the significance of smallpox for the conquest of Mexico; and the contribution of typhus to Napoleon’s downfall and of haemophilia to the collapse of Tsarist rule in Russia. Other topics surveyed include the influence of tropical diseases in the history of the colonization of Africa, and the global death-toll taken by the so-called ‘Spanish’ influenza of 1918-9.

Michael Biddiss and Frederick F. Cartwright show how successive eras have made progress against pestilence, even while confronting new and often unforeseen threats. The final section of the book highlights many of the current problems now facing a world where disease – especially when combined with war, famine, and ecological recklessness – presents an ongoing challenge to human survival, as is the case currently with the ongoing coronavirus pandemic.

Praise for Disease and History:


‘A study whose outstanding virtues are economy, clarity and readability’ - New Statesman

‘A welcome updating and careful revision of one of the pioneering accounts of the social history of medicine’ - Roy Porter, Professor of the Social History of Medicine, UCL

‘Fascinating and highly recommended’ - Library Journal

Frederick Cartwright was the head of the Department of the History of Medicine at King’s College Medical School in London.

Michael Biddiss is Emeritus Professor of History and former Dean of Letters and Social Sciences at the University of Reading.
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  1. Print length
    265 pages
  2. Language
    English
  3. Sticky notes
    On Kindle Scribe
  4. Publication date
    November 11, 2020
  5. File size
    2438 KB
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  1. So mankind’s three great enemies, Pestilence, Famine and War – the three Horsemen of the Apocalypse who bring in their train Death upon his Pale Horse – developed on an ever-increasing scale.
    Highlighted by 100 Kindle readers
  2. Under the Romans public health and sanitation were more advanced around the year AD 300 than they were to be again until the middle of the nineteenth century.
    Highlighted by 93 Kindle readers
  3. First, Christianity would hardly have succeeded in establishing itself as a world force and would certainly not have taken the form that it eventually did if the Roman Empire had not been ravaged by incurable disease during the years which followed the life of Christ.
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Editorial Reviews

About the Author

Michael D. Biddiss is Professor of History at the University of Reading.

Product details

  • ASIN ‏ : ‎ B08NCWXGYN
  • Publisher ‏ : ‎ Lume Books; 4th edition (November 11, 2020)
  • Publication date ‏ : ‎ November 11, 2020
  • Language ‏ : ‎ English
  • File size ‏ : ‎ 2438 KB
  • Text-to-Speech ‏ : ‎ Enabled
  • Screen Reader ‏ : ‎ Supported
  • Enhanced typesetting ‏ : ‎ Enabled
  • X-Ray ‏ : ‎ Enabled
  • Word Wise ‏ : ‎ Not Enabled
  • Sticky notes ‏ : ‎ On Kindle Scribe
  • Print length ‏ : ‎ 265 pages
  • Page numbers source ISBN ‏ : ‎ 1910198234
  • Customer Reviews:
    4.1 4.1 out of 5 stars 484 ratings

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Frederick Fox Cartwright

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Customer reviews

4.1 out of 5 stars
4.1 out of 5
484 global ratings

Top reviews from the United States

Janet K. Schwartzkopf
5.0 out of 5 stars I Love This Book
Reviewed in the United States on January 31, 2016
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This is one of those books I stumbled over while reading the end notes of another tome, and I'm glad I did. I've always had an interest in the Black Death that swept Europe in the 14th century, and the Spanish influenza which struck almost a century ago now, so I bought this book to see what it had to say on my "favorites." However, it greatly expanded my horizons by talking about such topics as the spread of measles and small pox to the New World, and the advent of venereal diseases and what that meant to England (Henry VIII) and Russia (Ivan the Terrible). The authors even speculate that Joan of Arc's visions might have been due to an inner ear problem. And, they address the mass psychological disorder that produced the Nazis.

While I was certainly more interested in some topics than in others, perhaps the most fortunate thing about this book is that it's co-authored by a doctor and an historian, so the writing is generally crisp and knowledgeable without getting bogged down in medical terms. It provides a great deal of context to what diseases have done to society over the centuries, gives the reader much to speculate about, and was interesting reading from first page to last. I thoroughly enjoyed it.
20 people found this helpful
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4.0 out of 5 stars A bit dry for my taste
Reviewed in the United States on April 17, 2023
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A United Kingdom oriented work. Well written and researched. Interesting reading. Links widespread diseases to U K history identifies epidemic, & pandemic likely sources and distribution paths.
One person found this helpful
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R.L. Stroud
3.0 out of 5 stars An uneven, but still interesting book
Reviewed in the United States on February 9, 2023
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This book is meant to be a general survey on how disease has influenced history on both the personal level and the macro level. I felt it did much better at explaining, for instance, the true costs of a disease like malaria and how long it has stymied human progress.
The author the explains how disease affects history by affecting leaders at crucial times throughout history. This is the weakness of the book, and the part that the editor should have rewritten. It reads as if it were written by a Victorian with a bad case of hero worship for Napoleon. He sounds much more like a detached historian when discussing the effects of hemophilia on the Russian revolution.
The last parts of the book discusses modern medicines one big success, the elimination of smallpox and contrasts with the failures to eliminate malaria, tuberculosis and how climate change will make the West vulnerable to many old enemies.
The last chapter deals solely with Covid and contrasts how the various governments dealt with the challenge. I thought this was the strongest part of the book. It didn't use a lot of stats, nor did it try to explain the difference between flu vaccines and RNA-based vaccines.
7 people found this helpful
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TRod6653
5.0 out of 5 stars Loved it it was interesting to read
Reviewed in the United States on April 19, 2023
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Wonderful writing and a lot of medical and a lot of history I think as a registered nurse it should be required reading in health and history classes . I enjoyed the authors flowing story .
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Jolly Quilter
4.0 out of 5 stars Interesting historical perspective
Reviewed in the United States on October 12, 2022
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I found this book easy to read and full of well researched information on the plagues and pestilence of the world. I came across several typos, which reflect poor editing, but I would still recommend the book for its historical value.
2 people found this helpful
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Kindle Customer
5.0 out of 5 stars Extremely informative
Reviewed in the United States on February 15, 2022
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It was very interesting to read about the health perils mankind has faced. We have come so far, yet in the past two years we have found ourselves on the receiving end of nature again.
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Crystal Toller
4.0 out of 5 stars Disease & History
Reviewed in the United States on May 30, 2023
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This book discusses the interrelation of different diseases on the course of history and how different diseases in different eras have affected history. Really enjoyed this book and enjoyed learning more about the relationship between disease and history.
One person found this helpful
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Shella S. Hollowell
5.0 out of 5 stars Medicine
Reviewed in the United States on October 13, 2011
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Excellent book on medical history and especially good essays on epidemics throughout history. I am using it in a class as a textbook.
7 people found this helpful
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Top reviews from other countries

Rae
5.0 out of 5 stars Insightful. A stark warning for the future.
Reviewed in the United Kingdom on October 31, 2023
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Really fascinating and very well researched. I really liked the interweaving of the disease stories with the human experience of those diseases.
The ending is rightly, if disconcertingly, stark and alarming.
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John Hopper
4.0 out of 5 stars good, though a bit wandering off the point at times
Reviewed in the United Kingdom on March 10, 2024
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This book is a partly chronological, partly thematic study of the history of disease and how it has influenced, or may have influenced, the course of human history. Some of this is through grand historical events and developments, such as the ancient Greek struggle between Athens and Sparta, the fall of the Roman Empire, the Black Death, or the Spanish conquest of Mexico. Other chapters cover illnesses affecting the lives of pivotal historical figures, such as: the certain syphilis that led to the extreme cruelty of Tsar Ivan the Terrible; the probable syphilis that affected Henry VIII and may have led to the sharp change in his personality in the late 1520s from the perfect Renaissance prince of his earlier years to the cruel tyrant of his last couple of decades; and, most famously, the haemophilia that afflicted Queen Victoria's descendants and in particular the final Romanov heir, the boy Alexei, whose parents Nicholas and Alexandra allowed themselves to fall under the sway of Rasputin and others, contributing in part to the downfall of the dynasty.

There are also thematic chapters on specific diseases such as syphilis, smallpox, influenza, typhus and various types of malaria, how these diseases may have originated (often disputed or unknown), how they spread and how they have been partly or wholly combatted (though it's not always a straight line of progress).

Generally speaking the content I have described above was very good and interesting, but I thought the book lost focus and conviction as it went on. Much of the later material on historical personalities such as Napoleon and Hitler was not really how disease the influenced their actions and subsequent history, but more of a recounting of their rise and fall. Some of the later thematic material was also weaker, I thought, for example that on mob hysteria, the influence of Joan of Arc's voices, and the rise of environmentalism. There was some portentous language such as: "The solution will then surely lie in the hands of one or all of humanity’s age-old enemies, Famine, Pestilence, and War – those Horsemen of the Apocalypse who also bring with them Death upon his Pale Steed". The slightly polemical epilogue on COVID 19 (written in November 2020) concluded that it "had already served to demonstrate that the four Horsemen of the Apocalypse who haunt our histories were continuing to circle us, but now on swifter steeds".

Overall, though, this was a good read and a worthwhile reminder than historical events and developments are not just caused and directed by political and military forces.
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Dean Thornton
3.0 out of 5 stars Interesting!
Reviewed in the United Kingdom on October 8, 2023
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I've just started to get into this e book, on my kindle. So far, so good. Interesting!
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Mrs. Olga A. Danes-volkov
5.0 out of 5 stars A magnificent and timely book
Reviewed in the United Kingdom on July 17, 2021
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As we all lie about moaning about having to stay away.from others, etc. etc (well, not after Monday when we can infect everyone) we would do well to read this book. It is a comprehensive and balanced view of history allied to the diseases that afflicted the various areas of the world.

I did not realise to what extent disease had affected the outcome of so many successions, wars, social conditions et al. It is all laid out for us and how lucky we are to live now, partly because morbidity is lower but also because nursing, drugs and vaccinations are all so advanced. It does not make it any easier for those who have lost people but they would have died in relative comfort. Descriptions of disease in the past makes one's blood run cold.

My own father nearly died of typhus as one of the last White Army soldiers to leave Yalta in a filthy over-crowded ship for Constantinople.

As time goes on, and populations increase, Pandemics will come again, even if the current one eventually comes to an end or we regard as just another flu from which sadly, people already die each winter.
11 people found this helpful
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Savina's obsessive hobby. A necessarily indulgence
5.0 out of 5 stars At this time a book like this is strangely appropriate
Reviewed in the United Kingdom on May 10, 2023
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While we are now at a point when we can relax, the past two to three years of isolation have left a toll on everyone. We can now luxuriate in our freedom and try to prepare better for the next inevitable upsurge of virus versus man.
One person found this helpful
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