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allisonfigs's review against another edition
informative
tense
medium-paced
3.75
Content Warnings
Moderate: Chronic illness, Gore, Blood, and Injury/Injury detail
grimmauxillatrix's review
adventurous
dark
tense
fast-paced
2.5
An outdated book in the post-Covid world. This book should be considered a relic, not a classic, and forgotten by the average reader. It is colonialist, sexist, and fear-mongering, and the only value it retains is it's window into the perspective of the world towards epidemiology in the early 90s.
The good: the writing is still dramatic and interesting. It's a gripping, well-paced book that compelled me to finish it even though a lot of the information contained within is at best exaggerated, and at worst completely incorrect thanks to continuing advances in medical science.
The bad: this book did for epidemiology what Jaws did for sharks; that is, incited panic and fear about disease that has done far more harm than good to society. The 2014 Ebola outbreak surprised many of us who'd grown up in terror of the supernatural powers of the disease: it turns out that the disease didn't turn people into exploding blood zombies. The outbreak wasn't the end of the world. Ebola is a virulent and deadly disease, but understanding it is key to fighting it, and understanding, rather than treating it as a mysterious unknown, reduces fear and allows for action.
The ugly: this book singlehandedly turned Africa into a disease ridden dark continent for an entire generation. The colonialist tones are unmistakable, with the various African peoples treated more like part of the backdrop than people with agency. Disease is around every corner, and so dangerous to the civilized white man that they can only journey there in a "level four space suit". Calling the Kinshasa highway the AIDS highway and blaming the spread of the disease on the people who live and travel there is disingenuous and counterproductive to both helping the people of Africa rise up, and to continuing disease research.
The portions taking place in America are steeped in 90s typical sexism, even though it primarily discusses Army personnel. Though not nearly as egregious as the white man's burden colonial mindset in the African portions, it still rubs the wrong way.
Overall, this is a well written but bad book that should be forgotten.
The good: the writing is still dramatic and interesting. It's a gripping, well-paced book that compelled me to finish it even though a lot of the information contained within is at best exaggerated, and at worst completely incorrect thanks to continuing advances in medical science.
The bad: this book did for epidemiology what Jaws did for sharks; that is, incited panic and fear about disease that has done far more harm than good to society. The 2014 Ebola outbreak surprised many of us who'd grown up in terror of the supernatural powers of the disease: it turns out that the disease didn't turn people into exploding blood zombies. The outbreak wasn't the end of the world. Ebola is a virulent and deadly disease, but understanding it is key to fighting it, and understanding, rather than treating it as a mysterious unknown, reduces fear and allows for action.
The ugly: this book singlehandedly turned Africa into a disease ridden dark continent for an entire generation. The colonialist tones are unmistakable, with the various African peoples treated more like part of the backdrop than people with agency. Disease is around every corner, and so dangerous to the civilized white man that they can only journey there in a "level four space suit". Calling the Kinshasa highway the AIDS highway and blaming the spread of the disease on the people who live and travel there is disingenuous and counterproductive to both helping the people of Africa rise up, and to continuing disease research.
The portions taking place in America are steeped in 90s typical sexism, even though it primarily discusses Army personnel. Though not nearly as egregious as the white man's burden colonial mindset in the African portions, it still rubs the wrong way.
Overall, this is a well written but bad book that should be forgotten.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Animal cruelty, Animal death, Body horror, Child death, Chronic illness, Confinement, Death, Gore, Terminal illness, Blood, Vomit, Medical content, Medical trauma, Death of parent, Colonisation, and Pandemic/Epidemic
Moderate: Cursing, Sexism, Violence, Excrement, and Murder