Ilene R. (planteater) reviewed on 3/6/2010 + 10 more book reviews

The book describes how human practices of agriculture, development, travel, etc have led to the rise of six diseases: West Nile Virus, Mad Cow Disease, HIV/AIDS, Hantavirus, Lyme Disease, antibiotic resistant Salmonella, and SARS. The author presents his cases very clearly and convincingly, and includes plenty of human interest stories to keep the lay reader engaged. Now not every science writer can be Michael Pollan, who sets a very high standard, so to say that Mark Jerome Walters does not write as well as Pollan is rather unfair. Walters is a journalist, not an essayist, and it shows. But the book is eminently readable, and at 156 pages you can knock it off quickly and come away a bit smarter, and with a deeper understanding of how humans are bringing about their own demise by failing to consider the ecological and biological consequences of their actions.

Back to all reviews by this member
Back to Book Reviews
Back to Book Details