Description
Book SynopsisTuberculosis is characterized as a social disease and few have been more inextricably linked with human history. There is evidence from the archaeological record that Mycobacterium tuberculosis and its human hosts have been together for a very long time. The very mention of tuberculosis brings to mind romantic images of great literary figures pouring out their souls in creative works as their bodies were being decimated by consumption. It is a disease that at various times has had a certain glamour associated with it. From the medieval period to the modern day, Helen Bynum explores the history and development of tuberculosis throughout the world, touching on the various discoveries that have emerged about the disease over time, and focussing on the experimental approaches of Jean-Antoine Villemin (1827-92) and Robert Koch (1842-1910). Bynum also examines the place tuberculosis holds in the popular imagination and its role in various forms of the dramatic arts. The story of tuberculosis
Trade ReviewThis is an ideal overview for the general reader that will also be of interest to historians. * Network Review, David Lorimer *
Helen Bynum has written a book not only full of diverting asides but also of urgent importance. * Richard Horton, Guardian *
Highly recommended. * M.L. Charleroy, CHOICE *
Table of ContentsPrologue: George Orwell (1903-1950) ; 1. Ancient Bacteria, Old Diseases ; 2. All With 'A Touch of Consumption'? ; 3. Tubercles, Airs, Waters and Places ; 4. Consumption's Fashionistas ; 5. Consumption becomes Tuberculosis ; 6. Design for Living ; 7. Tuberculosis and the Health of the Race ; 8. Streptomycin & co ; 9. A Job Half Done ; Epilogue: 'There is no Dypraxa'
