Cheap science book deals

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I’ve mentioned at various times in the past The Coming Plague: Newly Emerging Diseases in a World Out of Balance by Laurie Garrett. This is not a new book, but it is an excellent scholarly and accessible accounting of the situation with respect to emerging diseases at the time of its publication in 1995.

One of the most interesting stories covered here is the reaction in the US to the Swine Flu, during the Ford administration. I was reminded of this when we had our tiny outbreak of Ebola. I’m sure you’ve been following the whole anti-vax thing over the years. I believe that the anti-vax philosophy in the US has its roots in the Swine Flu debacle, though I’ve never seen that addressed by the usual suspects who speak and write about that problem. Anyway, I just noticed that Garrett’s book is in Kindle form for 7.99 (though cheaper in used form in print, if you look around.

For a mere two bucks you can get the Kindle version of The Demon in the Freezer: A True Story. This is the same author as The Hot Zone, and explores small pox. This 2002 book is a bit out of date vis-a-vis recent developments in genetic research, and is probably a bit sensationalistic, but if your library of sensationalistic disease related non-fiction is missing this volume, now is is your chance!

Have you read the breakthrough novel of the year? When you are done with that, try:

In Search of Sungudogo by Greg Laden, now in Kindle or Paperback
*Please note:
Links to books and other items on this page and elsewhere on Greg Ladens' blog may send you to Amazon, where I am a registered affiliate. As an Amazon Associate I earn from qualifying purchases, which helps to fund this site.

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3 thoughts on “Cheap science book deals

  1. ISTR reading ‘The Hot Zone’, was the origin an island in Northern Lake Victoria, Africa?

    How about a narrative on the influenza outbreak that killed so many towards the vend of and following WW1:

    ‘Catching Cold’ Pete Davis.

  2. Proud owner of The Coming Plague for at least 10 years. Great read. Plus, c’mon: why wouldn’t sciency types like us want to learn everything they can about the history of the likes of of ebola, Marburg, etc.?

    But the last chapter is the scariest, actually. It’s about how the overuse of antibiotics during the decades I was growing up led to the evolution of superbugs like MRSA, and how our efforts to combat them are one of the greatest challenges medicine has ever faced.

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