Dread, by Philip Alcabes - Large Print Reviews

Large Print Reviews

Dread
How Fear and Fantasy have Fueled Epidemics from the Black Death to Avian Flu By Philip Alcabes
Read How You Want, (2010)
EasyRead Large Print, in 16 Point Font
(Originally Published in Standard Print by Public Affairs)
ISBN: 9781458782762
Genre: Science, Health, History

Reviewed by Harry S. Chou - February 28, 2011

Can you hear the word smallpox without getting a shiver up your spine? What about AIDS, Avian Flu, or Bubonic Plague? We seemed to be hardwired to have an inborn fear of disease. This is not surprising when you consider that until the development of germ theory and the advent of penicillin, we, as a species, were at the mercy of any little germ that might decided to inhabit our bodies. In Dread, Philip Alcabes takes an in-depth look at our inherent fear, real or imagined of disease, and how these fears have helped to shape our society. What I found most interesting about this book is that Alcabes also looks at how our fears, especially those that are merely imagined or shaped by our preconceived notions, can cause us to react irrationally to an ongoing threat, and how these irrational fears can cause us to blow these threats well out of proportion to the real threat level that they pose. As Alcabes states, the point of the book is "that a society's epidemic narrative reflects its own anxieties and dreads - not necessarily real harm or ensuring suffering." (Pg. v.)

In exploring our fear of disease, Alcabes takes the reader on a historical journey through both past and ongoing epidemics including the bubonic plague epidemics of the middle ages, the cholera outbreaks that have plagued mankind through to the present day, syphilis, flu, AIDS, and even obesity, which some see as a modern day plague but which Alcabes sees as a misuse of the term epidemic. The end result is not only do you get a historical overview of how our fear of disease as impacted both modern and ancient societies, but also how it has influenced world cultures and even worked its way into our cultural media from painting and literature, to television.

Alcabes also looks at the medical/scientific side of epidemics, from what causes various diseases, to how they are spread, and how they were treated in the past, and how they are treated today. He also looks at the steps that mankind had taken over the years to control the spread of disease, from societal constraints on intimate relations and shunning those that are suspected of being sick, to the hygiene movement of the early 20th century and the development of sewer systems.

All together, this is an eye-opening and timely book with drug resistant tuberculosis an under reported and ever growing threat, while other diseases such as H1N1 seemed too over hyped - at least so far. This is a book that will enthrall historians, social scientist, medical professionals, and anyone who ever feared 'catch something' or who have wondered how to tell the hype from the reality when they hear about the spread of the disease de jour. Best of all, Alcabes' writing is engaging and is anything but academic in style, although he does back up his assertions with copious endnotes.

Dread is available from Read How You Want, an on-demand publisher that makes books available in a variety of formats including Braille, DAISY, and five different large print formats. This range of formats makes this, and other books, available not only to visually impaired individuals, but also anyone with a reading or physical disability that makes reading standard print books difficult.

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Related Reviews:

Flu: The Story of the Great Influenza Pandemic of 1918, by Gina Kolata.
In this book, Kolata offers the reader an in-depth look at the 1918 influenza pandemic; including what influenza is, the effects that the epidemic had both politically and culturally, and its long term aftereffects.
Scourge - The Once and Future Threat of Smallpox, by Jonathan B. Tucker.
A history Smallpox: how it spread around the globe, how it affected civilization, and how Smallpox was eradicated. Plus a look at what might happen if smallpox wherever used as a bioweapon.

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