A brief history of humans through the prospective of pathogens, and what an eye opener. I have read a lot of history books and this one makes you see it all in a new way, many big events in history were actually influenced by pathogens.

'Alexander the Great, Muhammad, Charlemagne, Martin Luther and George Washington, these ‘heroes’didn’t bend the arc of history with their genius and force of personality; rather, these qualities allowed them to take advantage of the opportunities that had been created by devastating epidemics.'

This book was well written, not too heavy and easy to follow, with just the right amount of data and figures to highlight the points made but without becoming too bogged down and boring. The only negative I have is that another proof read is needed as there are some grammar issues and missing/extra words that were distracting. A really enlightening and interesting read that will make you realise how important it is to look to our past for influencing our responses to any future pandemics and the importance of working together as a species, regardless of which country we live in, as this maybe the only way we can ensure our survival.

I was fascinated by the deep delve into ancient history and the explanation of the demise of great civilizations being due to epidemics. How different the world would have been without the presence of pathogens throughout history. I learnt such a lot about early man, and the fact that there were several 'human' species around at the same time, and the reflections on why ours was the one to survive.

As the book went on, I began to lose interest as the science seemed to take second place to the history, and chapters which became a list of who invaded whom left me cold.

The eternal war between man and microbe 4.5 rating, raised

Jonathan Kennedy takes a huge and fast leap through aeons of time, from when the bipedal primate, in some guise or other, first began to walk the earth, up to virtually the present day – 2022 and the state of the world with Covid 2019 at the point of submission to publication.

This is an absorbing, and extremely well written book. I have a few quibbles whenever a ‘unifying theory’ is laid out to explain absolutely EVERYTHING, which to some extent, does happen here – history, politics, pre-history, who won what war and why, which gets explained completely through the microscope of – well, those pathogens visible under it.

I did cheer (often) at his progressive views, his outrage at the perfidy of inequality, the capitalist system, racism, consciously or unconsciously expressed, and the greed of big pharma and the governments of many countries (including our own) which allowed the spread and devastation of the most recent ‘plagues’ – Covid 19 and HIV/AIDS because poorer countries have been unable to access vaccines (CV19) or antiretrovirals (HIV/AIDS) at affordable costs.

He is rightly contemptuous of the continuing health inequalities between poor nations and wealthy ones – and, even within the wealthy nations, particularly the USA and the UK, the inequalities between regions, classes and ethnicities which meant that Covid 19 has had vastly different outcomes, some of which can be laid at the door of those growing inequalities in health even before Covid 19 laid its lethal fingers upon the world

Despite my sometimes quibbly thoughts (mainly around the can’t really be proven epochs buried in the far mists of unrecorded history) I strongly recommend this to anyone who likes well written science, history, politics and philosophy books.

An extremely interesting read giving a whole new perspective on history. The book explores how world history from early man to the current day has been affected by plague and disease whilst still being very readable. Kennedy's view that the health of the nation is one of the most important factors affecting the wealth and progress of a nation. This is very relevant considering the poor state of the NHS and the decline of living standards. He also makes some thought-provoking comments regarding the future in his conclusions.

What an excellent book. All the reader needs is a little enthusiasm and desire to read about the history of pathogens and they’re set.
I thoroughly enjoyed my travels through history, learning about diseases, their spread and that pandemics have been happening since time began! There’s a wealth of information in this book. It’s absolutely fascinating. A highly recommended read.

An informative stroll through history, from early humans, to the age of Athens, to now and all the epidemics, plagues and infections in between. I got majorly sucked into reading this, and found the chapters dwindle into nothing!

Once I started reading, I got into the flow and found it so easy to read. Complex and often lots of information is made easily digestible, making it the perfect book for all. Whether you already had some existing knowledge on this topic or never delved into it before. You’re guaranteed to learn a lot and in a way that it doesn’t seem too overwhelming.

I love the subject so definitely had a prior interest. I love that this book dragged out the knowledge and intense research from published journals and articles most outside of academia will never read, and into a format that can be read by all. You can tell just how much research went into making this book and the author did an absolutely brilliant job.

History summed up through epidemics, diseases, war and reforms, it contained a lot and included a chapter near the end regarding our current foe, Covid-19. It was such an interesting read and certainly piqued my interest and scientists brain.