Plague: A Story of Science, Rivalry, and the Scourge That Wont Go Away

“You thought the bubonic plague had gone the way of powdered wigs? Try again: It could happen anytime. Edward Marriott’s dramatic, gripping new book gives you yet another thing to worry about.” —New York

Plague. The very word carries an unholy resonance. No other disease can claim its apocalyptic power: it can lie dormant for centuries, only to resurface with nation-killing force. Here, with the high drama of an adventure tale, Edward Marriott unravels the story of this lethal disease: the historic battle to identify its source, the devastating effects of pandemics, and the prospects for new outbreaks. Marriott begins the trail in Hong Kong in the summer of 1894, when a plague diagnosis brought to the island two top scientists—Alexandre Yersin, a maverick Frenchman, and his Japanese rival, Shibasaburo Kitasato. Marriott interweaves the narrative of their fierce competition with vivid scenes of the scourge’s persistence: California in 1900; Surat, India, in 1994; and New York City sometime in the future.

A masterly account of medical and human history, Plague is at once an instructive warning and a chilling read.