The Deadly Truth, A History of Disease in America

This is a remarkable work by the Emeritus Professor of the History of Medicine at Rutgers. It traces patterns of disease and morbidity from Pre-Columbian times onwards and is skeptical of contemporary claims that advances in science will eliminate disease. The author quotes Rene Dubos to the effect that each civilisation creates its own diseases and that when one series is conquered, another will emerge. Even today we are up against antibiotic resistance and iatrogenic conditions on an unprecendented scale. He takes a biological rather than a social construction approach, commenting that the notion of disease as unnatural rests on a fundamental misunderstanding of the biological world - if cancer is the enemy, then so are we. A vivid and fascinating tale.