A very interesting piece of research about the worlds history and pathogens, I found this enjoyable to read and full of information that made me think wow that’s amazing. I would recommended this to friends and family who also enjoy this type of novel

I found this fascinating as my job is in Public Health. My job during the pandemic was to work with workplaces and enclosed settings to try and reduce the spread of the virus and this is a very useful tool for education. To understand something is to better control it. Infectious diseases are a global problem.
An excellent, informative and educational read. Outstanding.

Pathogenesis is a fascinating account of the way in which diseases of all sorts have shaped human history. It was a complete revelation to me that diseases such as the plague were never confined to one tragic episode but were terrifying features of human existence for centuries. The scope of this book is enormous and very timely.
Thank you to the author, the publishers and to NetGalley for the opportunity to read an arc.

I think this would have been a fascinating book at any time but of course it feels all the more relevant and interesting because of events in recent years. I really enjoyed it, learnt a lot and feel I can now tell my doctor husband things that even he doesn't know about viruses and bacteria (assuming I can remember the facts!!!)

Thank you to NetGalley, the publishers and the author himself for the ARC.

Pathogens is is the history of germs in essence. The author Jonathan Kennedy is a teacher of global health at a London university so he should know what he is talking about. And what it is he is writing about is completely fascinating. The history of germs is the history of us, of humans really. He writes of how history has been affected by if not actually changed by germa - take for example the Black Death in the UK that changed the social structure of the country entirely and led one could argue to the emancipation of the workforce from serfdom to labourer. Utterly fascinating and i think it should be read by everyone. Worth it.

Pathogenesis is a fantastic book which clearly and succinctly explores the massive effect pathogens have had on the world. It was so surprising to fund out that the main catalyst for changing empires and ultimately changes in the world have all been a result of pathogens in one form or the other.

I also have to admire how Jonathan also took into consideration social and economical changes, and even discussed shortly how pathogens are going to continue affecting our lives in the future.

I loved Jonathan's writing style. Although some parts I felt were more advanced (not for a beginner like me who has zero prior knowledge), this has really piqued my interest about this subject in non-fiction and I can't wait to read more.

Thank you again NetGalley, Jonathan Kennedy and Transworld Publishers for the opportunity to read this book in exchange for an honest review.

Review also posted to Goodreads.

This was a brilliant book to read and it was one that took me through the history of the world from the emergence of humans through to the present day.

Starting at the beginning the author tells how humans were hunter-gatherers, they would move and travel. It was when they settled that disease began to make itself known. As people lived close and began to cultivate the land, and breed animals this closeness was something that encouraged any pathogens, diseases, viruses or plagues to multiply. As people from different areas and regions began to mix then so diseases would travel. One group may be immune to a certain strain having built upon their immunity over time. Coming into another group may not have had the immunity and so things were able to spread.

Using the history of the world and how humans moved and travelled is a great way to understand how diseases or plagues were able to travel. History has shown how some indigenous populations were wiped out due to European travellers bringing in diseases. Where the Europeans had built up an immunity over time, indigenous peoples were coming into contact with it for the very first time. The results were deadly.

As humans have gradually spread, become more industrialised and shaped the earth then so plagues and diseases have also changed. Being in closer contact with animals has allowed some pathogens to change and they have made the jump from infecting animals to humans. Many people think of the Black Death when the word plague is mentioned. The bacteria Yersinia Pestis is responsible for the plague, it has been around long before the 1348 or 1665 outbreaks. The bacteria has been found in the DNA of ancient humans from the neolithic age.

AS people have moved and adapted then so have the bacteria responsible for plagues. As we are freer to travel then so are the bacteria. The recent pandemic has shown our generation how quickly a plague can move and we are constantly being told of new strains of Covid. We also live in a world where certain antibiotics are not as effective for treating bacterial or viral infections.

Using history as a way of showing how people lived, worked, moved and developed their knowledge and understanding of the world is a great way of showing the history of plagues as well. One evolves alongside the other and this is a book that is easy to read and understand.

The author has done a brilliant job and I really found this book amazing to read. I learnt so many things and also understood certain things a lot more. Laid out well and referencing things that I knew of was a great way of laying out history and plagues.

This is a fabulous book and if you enjoy reading history, about plagues, deaths, living conditions and the general history of the world and its people then I do think this is a book you would really enjoy. I did and I would definitely recommend it.

2020 made the whole modern world face a reawakening to the threat of plagues and pandemics, yet this book reveals the bare truth, that our entire history on earth has actually been shaped by bacteria and viruses.
Written in a mostly clear and easy to understand way (I felt some chapters did seem a bit repetitive or lost me a little with the depth of information (albeit granted a very complex subject) this book presents analysis, facts and comparisons from prehistory to the modern day (including COVID-19).
I think the most fascinating aspects for me were how our very existence in evolution depended upon bacteria to change the atmosphere to one that could sustain complex life, as well as how wars have been won and lost, resulting in massive changes to society, because of the occurrence of disease and varying immunity.

As a nurse, this subject and genre of non-fiction always interest me. I love to find out further facts and figures and research that has a true basis with an author who has done a good job. This is all of those things and despite being on the heavier reading side, I still learnt from it and can take a lot away.

The E-Book could be improved and more user-friendly, such as links to the chapters, no significant gaps between words some text written has been typed in red and a cover for the book would be better. It is very document-like instead of a book. A star has been deducted because of this.

This is a first for me by the author and one I enjoyed and would read more of their work. The book cover is eye-catching and appealing and would spark my interest if in a bookshop. Thank you very much to the author, publisher and Netgalley for this ARC.

3,.5/5.

This is a fascinating read even if a little unexpected. The main title Pathogenesis suggested to me a close look at pathogens and the diseases they caused but closer attention to the subtitle “how infectious diseases shaped human history” really would have given things away. I am far from a history buff but this really was an exceptionally interesting read. All the characters remembered from school are here, Alexander the Great, Attila the Hun, Charlemagne among so many others. However this time their exploits are placed in the context of pathogenic diseases that were prevalent at the time.
This is a book for all history buffs without a doubt but also for anyone interested in science, medicine and indeed politics. A big take from this book is how society works so much better when the health of their population is considered but also individual nations cannot act alone anymore.
Well worth a read and highly commended.
Thanks to Netgalley and the publishers for this ARC in exchange for an honest review.

I do love a science book that is written for the layperson and this is a brilliant addition to that genre. So well researched and the bulk of the chapters appealed to my love of the history of medicine. I read it as a 'dipper' where I read a chapter a day and it is just perfect for that. The last couple of chapters deal a lot with non-medical plagues by looking at economies and their effect on the health of those in the poorest countries. Includes recent events includng Ukrainegetting a mention and quite a bit in Covid-19. Well worth reading if you are interested in the history and the future of pathogens. With thanks to NetGalley, the publishers and the author for this prepublication copy to read and review.

What a fascinating read this was, the book’s premise is that pathogens have been instrumental in what have been significant moments in the world and human history, it is a revelatory link connection. The impact between human development and viruses and bacterial infections that have been either ignored or not considered in the past are brought to the fore in Johnathon Kennedy’s book.

This book makes the reader broaden the view of the interrelationship between infections and their effect on our development as human beings.

I loved reading Pathogenesis and found it hard to put down, I would recommend this book to anyone who wanted another view of world history and the human experience, and how as a species we have not to ignore the obvious lessons of history that jump off the pages of this book.

This was a really fascinating read. Pathogenesis takes the perspective that infectious disease shaped many major events in human history that have previously been explained in other ways. As someone trained in medical sciences, it was so refreshing to see an explanation for things from how Homo sapiens eventually took over all other Homo species, to the rise and fall of great empires and religions that was based in science and not in the concept that one group is superior over another. Though this is an extensively researched book, it doesn't read like a science text, but creates an engaging narrative around the events that pulls the reader through with great interest.

Interesting premise and very informative, showing how viruses have influenced human and world history. Plague, smallpox, cholera, etc, through pre-history, the dark and medieval ages, 1800s and on. For anyone interested in history and science, I’d recommend this.

I received a free ARC copy of this via NetGalley and the publishers in return for an unbiased review.

Pathogenesis by Jonathan Kennedy, is an interesting, insightful and rather easy read into how infections have impacted human history. In part seems weirdly structured, saying one thing and then going onto express a different point, e.g Neanderthals are brutish, and then suddenly they’re not? I understand perhaps this is to stress the change in understanding but I fail to see how it’s relevant to understanding.

In other moments the book reads more like a general history book than a book about how infections shaped society. The book however picks up after during the Ancient Plague chapter when written (and archaeology) evidence is consulted to explore diseases. One point is, the use of Yuval Noah Harari and Jared Diamond, as ‘experts’ to express the authors key ideas really impacts (for me) the validity(?) of some of the experts used used. Yet, despite this the whole book is an informative, enjoyable and rather easy read and I learnt quite a lot. It doesn’t discuss the elephant in the room covid-19 until the final 4th of the book.

Thanks to Netgalley and the publishers for a copy in exchange for an honest read.

3.75 stars rounded up to 4.

How humans are at the whim of pathogens. I had never considered how much disease had influenced the outcome of wars. It was such an interesting book although a little long. Quite the quotable book!

Pathogenesis: How Infectious Diseases Shaped Human History
Jonathan Kennedy
Published on 13 April 2023 by Random House UK Transworld Publishers
ISBN 9781911709053

In the conclusion to this fascinating book, Kennedy states, ‘Epidemics have played a critical role in, among other things, the transformation from a planet inhabited by multiple species of human to one in which Homo sapiens reigned supreme, the replacement of nomadic foraging with sedentary agriculture; the decline of the great empires of antiquity; the rise of new world religions; the transition from feudalism to capitalism; European colonialism; and the Agricultural and Industrial Revolutions. In other words, bacteria and viruses have been instrumental in the emergence of the modern world.’ (p 291-92)

The preceding chapters lay out his extremely compelling argument in a well-written and very readable way. I thoroughly enjoyed this book. I chose to read a chapter or two each day because there was much there to think about.

At the start of the book, he lays a foundation for what is to come, explaining that without bacteria, we would never have had a climate that could support complex organisms, including humans. He discusses viruses—something we’ve all become more familiar with these last few years. Their origins are unknown, but they have existed for all or most of the time that life has existed and they outnumber all forms of life on earth. Currently there are 220 viruses that are known to be able to infect humans. In this book Jonathan Kennedy shows readers how infectious diseases impacted evolution, societies, cultures, and history. He does not discount the role of humans in shaping the world, but rather makes obvious something we all too often forget—humans act within and are limited by particular environments. Infectious disease has shaped those environments, thus the world in which we live.

I highly recommend this book.

I received a copy of the e-book in exchange for a review via NetGalley. I thank them, the publisher, and the author.

Pathogenesis is an interesting and insightful read. It is presented in an easy to read way that explains the sometimes complicated content in an easy to digest manner. Highly recommend read for those with an interest in pathogens and pandemics and their history and development to the current state.

Pathogenesis is quite an interesting read if you like history and science. Taking us by the hand and guiding us from early man through to present day and explaining how and why homo sapiens became dominant, how people have spread around the globe and even how wars have been waged, won and lost all through the medium of the pathogens that spread at the same time.

There were parts of this I already knew and parts that, when explained, seem so obvious you are surprised you missed them all this time. From the plague, black death and yellow fever through to malaria, Ebola and Covid 19 - these all get discussed in their historical setting and how they have impacted on life in the past and how they may continue to do so into the future.

I didn't care for the political nature of some parts of the book, and occasionally it felt a touch too 'history' and not enough 'pathogen' but on the whole I did enjoy it. It won't be for everyone as it is a bit academic for some tastes, but if you can get past that it is a fascinating read.

Thanks to Netgalley and the publishers for the ARC in exchange for an honest review.

Pathogenesis is a highly-readable and entertaining gallop through the role pathogens played at key points in world history and how their influence still so indelibly shapes the modern world. Jonathan Kennedy's work is at the intersection of medicine, public health, sociology and history. The result makes Pathogenesis a little like an updated (for recent scientific advances in virology, microbiology etc.), and easier reading, version of "Guns, Germs and Steel"....without the guns and steel. I highly recommend Pathogenesis for anyone who is interested in how our modern world came about and who enjoys an alternative to the "Great Men" theory of history. Personally I really enjoyed the book even if Jonathan is occasionally guilty of bending and stretching the evidence a little too much to fit his thesis. He tends to wear his politics overtly throughout the text, and I do find his over-use of "qualifiers" somewhat annoying.....surely readers are able to identify and consider appropriately the divergent morality of our predecessors? I found it sad yet intriguing, his theory that the high prevalence of malaria, yellow fever etc. in certain geographies compared to others, influenced whether colonisers brought families or not, and that this is discernible today in significantly divergent modern cultures in these countries. Overall this is an excellent read for those who are interested in theories on why the world is the way it is today. Special thank you to Random House UK,, Transworld Publishers and NetGalley for a no obligation advance review copy.