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The Plague Cycle
Book

The Plague Cycle

The Unending War Between Humanity and Infectious Disease

Scribner, 2021 plus...


Editorial Rating

8

Qualities

  • Scientific
  • Eye Opening
  • Engaging

Recommendation

Recounting a macabre litany of disease and death over the centuries, Charles Kenny demonstrates that for most of human history, infectious diseases – not violence, starvation or even heart disease – killed the most people. He explains how by the 20th century, humanity had mostly checked plague and infectious disease, only to see new threats emerge. Kenny asserts that nations must cooperate to avoid a return to the miseries of prior centuries.

Take-Aways

  • Heart attacks and strokes kill many more people around the world than infectious diseases; it wasn’t always that way.
  • Plagues and pandemics arose with the transition from nomadic hunting and gathering to agriculture and permanent settlements.
  • Pandemics changed the course of history. But, usually, societies rebound quickly.

About the Author

Senior fellow and researcher at the Center for Global Development Charles Kenny was a senior economist at the World Bank and an instructor at the John Hopkins School of Advanced International Studies.