Review by lezzieborden - The Ghost Map: The Story of London's Most Terrifying Epidemic—and How It Changed Science, Cities, and the Modern World

A review by lezzieborden
The Ghost Map: The Story of London's Most Terrifying Epidemic—and How It Changed Science, Cities, and the Modern World by Steven Johnson

informative slow-paced

3.75

Pretty good, interesting look into a specific moment in medical history. As it was written in 2006, the last chapter, where the author discusses modern technology’s potential in public health, is very outdated, and his comparisons of Victorian London to the 21st century are similarly 15 years out of date (insisting that you can’t even imagine how they would have felt as an epidemic became part of everyday life, with rumors and misinformation and an alternating numbness and anxiety— unfortunately, Steven, I can imagine). That said, the passage of time isn’t his fault, and the human story of Dr. Snow and the reverend still holds up and is well-written.

Content Warnings

A review by lezzieborden The Ghost Map: The Story of London's Most Terrifying Epidemic—and How It Changed Science, Cities, and the Modern World by Steven Johnson

A review by lezzieborden
The Ghost Map: The Story of London's Most Terrifying Epidemic—and How It Changed Science, Cities, and the Modern World by Steven Johnson