Rats, Lice, and History (ISBN 0316988960)

Amazon.com Review:
There are few topics more distressing than disease, yet there are few books more darkly delightful than this timeless classic about the histories of microbial diseases, rats, and lice, and the scientists and doctors who combatted them. First published in 1934 and still in print, this book combines science, history, biography, literature, and other fields into an elegant but grim package of broad erudition and darker humor. Here are two representative passages. ...(I)nfectious disease is merely a disagreeable instance of a widely prevalent tendency of all living creatures to save themselves the bother of building, by their own efforts, the things they require. Whenever they find it possible to take advantage of the constructive labors of others, this is the path of least resistance. The plant does the work with its roots and its green leaves. The cow eats the plant. Man eats both of them; and bacteria (or investment bankers) eat the man.... ...(T)he natural history of the rat is tragically similar to that of man ... some of the more obvious qualities in which rats resemble men--ferocity, omnivorousness, and adaptability to all climates ... the irresponsible fecundity with which both species breed at all seasons of the year with a heedlessness of consequences, which subjects them to wholesale disaster on the inevitable, occasional failure of the food supply.... (G)radually, these two have spread across the earth, keeping pace with each other and unable to destroy each other, though continually hostile. They have wandered from East to West, driven by their physical needs, and--unlike any other species of living things--have made war upon their own kind. The gradual, relentless, progressive extermination of the black rat by the brown has no parallel in nature so close as that of the similar extermination of one race of man by another... Elsewhere in the book, Zinsser is the equal of our greatest contemporary popular science writers, but as the above passages prove, he has a rather unique style.

The book I've reread the most number of times:
The copy of "Rats, Lice, and History" that I own was published in 1963, and this was the 33rd time it had been reissued since first appearing in 1934. I can't imagine Dr. Zinsser's grumpily discursive, masterfully written, and ultimately profound biography of typhus fever ever going completely out of print. Stylistically the only work I can compare it to is Gibbon's "Decline and Fall of the Roman Empire". Where Gibbon occasionally dipped his pen in vinegar and excoriated the Christians, Zinsser dips his pen in hydrochloric acid and savages all of the quaint human customs that have kept Typhus alive and thriving. He shows much more affectionate sympathy for the louse than he does for the General or the Politician. In the interests of research, Zinsser carried pill boxes of lice under his socks for weeks at a time before taking "advantage of them for scientific purposes." He is not able to tear himself away from these little creatures and address the true subject of his biography, i.e. the typhus germ, until Chapter 12! However, the journey to Chapter 12 is well worth taking because along the way, Zinsser wittily savages modern biographers, psychoanalysis, astronomers and physicists who "scamper back to God" (Biologists evidently are much less prone to being 'born again'), and of course, all of the wars that have given Typhus countless opportunities to murder lice and humans alike. "Rats, Lice, and History" should be required reading for would-be writers for its style, would-be Generals for its lessons on how soldiers really die, and for anyone else who is interested in a passionate, eminently witty, one-of-a-kind history of medicine. --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title

One of the 20th Century's greatest science books:
The copy of "Rats, Lice, and History" that I own was published in 1963, and this was the 33rd time it had been reissued since first appearing in 1934. I can't imagine Dr. Zinsser's grumpily discursive, masterfully written, and ultimately profound biography of typhus fever ever going completely out of print. Stylistically the only work I can compare it to is Gibbon's "Decline and Fall of the Roman Empire". Where Gibbon occasionally dipped his pen in vinegar and excoriated the Christians, Zinsser dips his pen in hydrochloric acid and savages all of the quaint human customs that have kept Typhus alive and thriving. He shows much more affectionate sympathy for the louse than he does for the General or the Politician. In the interests of research, Zinsser carried pill boxes of lice under his socks for weeks at a time before taking "advantage of them for scientific purposes." He is not able to tear himself away from these little creatures and address the true subject of his biography, i.e. the typhus germ, until Chapter 12! However, the journey to Chapter 12 is well worth taking because along the way, Zinsser wittily savages modern biographers, psychoanalysis, astronomers and physicists who "scamper back to God" (Biologists evidently are much less prone to being 'born again'), and of course, all of the wars that have given Typhus countless opportunities to murder lice and humans alike. "Rats, Lice, and History" should be required reading for would-be writers for its style, would-be Generals for its lessons on how soldiers really die, and for anyone else who is interested in a passionate, eminently witty, one-of-a-kind history of medicine.

Great 20th Century Classic:
This has got to be one of the great classics of the 20th Century. Composed by one of the dedicated scientists who was instrumental in coming up with a vaccine against typhus, Dr. Zinsser provides us with a "biography of typhus fever" and at the same time an unorthodox view of human civilization, convincingly demonstrating that rats and lice have been at least as important as humans in creating history and in the spread of religion. First published in 1935 the book's science is obviously dated, but it is Zinsser's style and genius as well as his interpretations of the relations between epidemics and the history of civilization that is important. This is a history, as Zinsser says, of the "little fellow creatures, which lurk in the dark corners and stalk us in the bodies of rats, mice, and all kinds of domestic animals; which fly and crawl with the insects, and waylay us in our food and drink and even in our love."

The role of epidemics in history:
A great overview of the role of infectious, particularly typhus, diseases in history. While the first couple of chapters almost put me off the book, with their discussion of the nature of biography, I'm glad I stuck with it to the second half of the book. Zinsser does a great job of explaining the difficulties in tracing the history of any infectious disease, and manages to make what could have been a highly technical discussion both readable and entertaining. Written in the 1930's, some of the information in this book is definitely dated. Specifically, modern antibiotics and other pharmaceuticals have radically changed the role of infectious diseases in our society. In addition, our understanding of viruses, genetics (including the discovery of DNA), and evolution have all advanced dramatically since the book was written. Even so, the historical analysis in this book is still enlightening and serves to highlight the often overlooked role of epidemics in history.

CONFUSING AT FIRST, BUT ULTIMATELY WORTH THE READ:
There are books on plague, smallpox and even typhus; the worst of them all, according to Zinsser, who has written a funny but fascinating 'biography' of the disease. Typhus, Zinsser says, can first be traced to around the 1400's. It thrives in conditions of war and chaos and has been a scourge to mankind ever since. Only the second half of the book is completely on this disease, though. Readers taken by other microbial bad guys may find them discussed earlier. I believe most will eventually find this book worth reading. The weakest section is certainly the first few chapters, up to about page 30. Here I must confess to not knowing what our author is talking about at all. He attempts to justify his book, and goes on to write page after page of nonsense. Whatever he is saying, I am sure the 'biography' would have been better without it.