Mosquito: The Story of Man's Deadliest Foe - Hardcover

SPIELMAN, A. / M. D'ANTONIO

3.89

379 ratings by Goodreads

9780571209804: Mosquito: The Story of Man's Deadliest Foe

Hardcover

ISBN 10: 0571209807 ISBN 13: 9780571209804

Publisher: Faber and Faber, 2001

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Now in paperback -- a fascinating work of popular science from a world-renowned expert on mosquitoes and a prize-winning reporter.

In this lively and comprehensive portrait of the mosquito, its role in history, and its threat to mankind, Spielman and D'Antonio take a mosquito's-eye view of nature and man. They show us how mosquitoes breed, live, mate, and die, and introduce us to their enemies, both natural and man-made. The authors present tragic and often grotesque examples of how the mosquito has insinuated itself into human history, from the malaria that devastated invaders of ancient Rome to the current widespread West Nile fever panic. Filled with little-known facts and remarkable anecdotes that bring this tiny being into larger focus, Mosquito offers fascinating, alarming, and convincing evidence that the sooner we get to know this pesky insect, the better off we'll be.

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Review:

Far from being just an itchy annoyance, a mosquito bite can also mark the transmission of a deadly disease. Millions worldwide die of malaria, yellow fever, and West Nile virus every year. Scientist Andrew Spielman tells the story of the tiny, ubiquitous insect, the diseases it carries, and the fight against them both in Mosquito.

Spielman, who has spent much of his career battling mosquitoes and mosquito-borne illness, knows his subject intimately--perhaps too intimately, as the section on the different species drags a bit. Better is his handling of various historic epidemics, from the malaria outbreak that caused the French to abandon the Panama Canal to the 1999 West Nile virus outbreak in New York City.

Spielman also recounts stories of how the tiny pests were thwarted, including the way DDT came to be used as a weapon in the cold war (take our side and we'll get rid of your mosquitoes)--and why these efforts ultimately failed. Most important, Spielman details how cities should prepare themselves for the inevitable epidemics ahead. --Sunny Delaney

About the Author:

Andrew Spielman, Sc.D., is one of the world's foremost authorities on mosquitoes and the infections they transmit. He is Harvard University's senior investigator in tropical disease.

Michael D'Antonio shared the Pulitzer Prize in journalism as part of a Newsday reporting team. He has written five acclaimed nonfiction books, including Atomic Harvest and Tin Cup Dreams.

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