Everything may be too raw and uncomfortable to absorb. But don’t rush into it if you’re still grappling with the consequences of COVID.
I recommend this if you’re a medical and science reader. I learned plenty about pandemics and disease management. Still, Wright takes complex science and breaks it down into readable chunks. However, our reactions to contagion containment measures remain frustratingly similar through the course of hundreds or thousands of years. By revisiting history, we learn from our mistakes. I was particularly struck by the number of times she said, “Hopefully we won’t have this attitude,” when in fact that’s exactly how people behave in this pandemic.ĭespite scientific and medical advances, humans will probably always face contagion. With everything from the last two years fresh in my mind, Wright’s work meant even more. My conclusionsĮven though I bought this book in 2019, reading it during the height of a pandemic seemed impossible. It’s not uncommon for the author to insert a comment about vaccine hesitancy, which certainly struck me hard in 2022. As time progresses, scientists create vaccines, and naturally, not everyone trusts them. If there’s a solution, Wright details the people and process involved. Those measures varied from the grim to the laughable. In each case, Wright also discusses how the plague spread and what measures were taken to stop it. For example, early in the book, she explains the Dancing Plague, then progresses through examples like the Black Plague, cholera, tuberculosis, and polio. Wright organizes her book chronologically, taking us through time as she highlights various contagious conditions. And they often choose the worst possible options. Even when medical theories are contested and not based on modern science, leaders and regular folks still choose how to handle a contagious plague. Perhaps I connected most strongly to the human and social elements because of experiencing the COVID-19 pandemic since 2020. Jennifer Wright balances aspects of medicine, science, and social history in her 2017 book, Get Well Soon: History’s Worst Plagues and the Heroes Who Fought Them.
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