Overview

In 1665, an infectious disease swept through the British capital and claimed the lives of tens of thousands of people. The Great Plague of London haunted the memories of those who survived it. But it would take another two hundred years for the cause of this illness to be discovered: a small but powerful bacterium called Yrsina pestis. In those centuries, our understanding of diseases was transformed. So Very Small is a brilliant journey through the epic history of bacteria, microbes and germs. Spanning centuries and continents, it draws on significant world events – the recurrent outbreaks of plague in Europe and Asia, the 1721 Boston smallpox outbreak, the great cholera pandemics of the nineteenth century – as well as the pioneering scientific discoveries that have furthered our understanding of bacteria. The compelling narrative culminates in a great medical breakthrough, the development of antibiotic treatment that has been the salvation of much of humanity in the twentieth century. Levenson also describes the medical and conceptual prejudices that so often delayed scientists’ ability to conquer infectious diseases. We still race today to stay ahead of strains of bacteria that are rapidly evolving. Fascinating and immersive, So Very Small is an entertaining, well written and deeply researched history of the scientific quest to understand how tiny organisms have impacted the wider world.

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9781800249059

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Fascinating... Thomas Levenson expertly combines storytelling and big questions, most notably: Why not? Why wasn’t the germ theory of disease formulated 200 years earlier? Why, in general, are huge scientific discoveries delayed until they happen? * David Quammen, author of Spillover * In So Very Small, author Tom Levenson brings to brilliant life the social history of medical detective work, notably the long quest to understand and to combat infectious disease. In doing so he illuminates the fascinating world of pathogenic microbes, the often unexpected ways we've achieved protection, and the often self-destructive ways we've undermined – and continue to undermine – our own public health successes. In a world where the next pandemic waits ahead, this is essential reading. * Deborah Blum, author of The Poison Squad: One Chemist's Single-Minded Quest for Food Safety at the Turn of the Twentieth Century * By peering through the lens of the modern germ theory, and our protracted battle with disease, Levenson has crafted a vivid, engaging and timely reminder that we are not as omnipotent nor as clever as we often believe ourselves to be. So Very Small is a deeply researched and thoughtfully compelling exploration of our successes, failures and precarious future with deadly pathogens. * Dr Timothy C. Winegard, author of The Mosquito and The Horse * A penetrating chronicle of humanity’s fight against microorganisms... The account concludes with a troubling study of how vaccine misinformation and an overreliance on antibiotics has produced drug-resistant superbugs and led to the re-emergence of measles, imperilling hard-won advances in public health... Buoyed by the author’s lucid prose, this is a first-rate work of popular science. * Publisher's Weekly *

Author Information

Thomas Levenson is a teacher, author and documentary filmmaker. He is Professor of Science Writing and Director of the Graduate Program in Science Writing at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT). As well as writing articles and reviews, he is the author of Einstein in Berlin, Newton and the Counterfeiter, The Hunt for Vulcan and Money for Nothing.

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