It's hard to imagine a light-hearted book on this subject, but Fitzharris manages to be informative and realistic while still interjecting a wry sense of humor into this brisk exploration of historical plagues.
Adrian Teal's comics, in shades of gray with red accents, dot the pages as Fitzharris starts the story with a stomach-turning description of a hospital in the early 1800s and the dismal fate of a doctor who tried to institute handwashing (hint: it involves an insane asylum). Fitzharris mixes modern science, the evolution of medical practice, and historical narratives to take readers into the midst of the the Black Death, smallpox, rabies, tuberculosis, cholera, and scurvy. Along the way you'll find out about famous people who died from these diseases, various solutions (some of which worked better than others) and the current state of these diseases. Readers will also realize that, while medical science has advanced, people in general... kind of have not, as Fitzharris mentions early conspiracies about vaccines, resistance among the medical profession to changes, as well as pioneers in the field of medical technology and research.
This isn't a comprehensive book by any means and doesn't really have the scope to deal with the inequities of medical practice and testing through the ages, but it's a good introduction, written in a lively fashion, to historical diseases that affected world history. There are similar titles out there, from Georgia Bragg and Carlyn Beccia's work to Kate Messner's History Smashers and Don Brown's Big ideas that changed the world, but this genre is always popular and the mix of gross and informational is perennially popular and eminently readable.
Verdict: Even if you have other titles on this subject, this is a strong addition with updated information and the plethora of cartoons to keep readers going. Recommended for most collections.
ISBN: 9781547606030; Published October 2023 by Bloomsbury; ARC provided by publisher
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