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

A National Bestseller, a New York Times Notable Book, and an Entertainment Weekly Best Book of the Year

It's the summer of 1854, and London is just emerging as one of the first modern cities in the world. But lacking the infrastructure-garbage removal, clean water, sewers-necessary to support its rapidly expanding population, the city has become the perfect breeding ground for a terrifying disease no one knows how to cure. As the cholera outbreak takes hold, a physician and a local curate are spurred to action-and ultimately solve the most pressing medical riddle of their time.

In a triumph of multidisciplinary thinking, Johnson illuminates the intertwined histories of the spread of disease, the rise of cities, and the nature of scientific inquiry, offering both a riveting history and a powerful explanation of how it has shaped the world we live in.

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• Pandemics: A Very Short Introduction (Very Short Introductions)
• The Great Influenza: The Story of the Deadliest Pandemic in History
• The Immortal Life of Henrietta Lacks
• The Unwomanly Face of War: An Oral History of Women in World War II
• The End of the Suburbs: Where the American Dream Is Moving
• Crabgrass Frontier: The Suburbanization of the United States
• Plagues & Poxes: The Impact of Human History on Epidemic Disease
• Holy Land: A Suburban Memoir
• Collapse: How Societies Choose to Fail or Succeed: Revised Edition