Review: The Ghost Map: The Story of London's Most Terrifying Epidemic - and How It Changed Science, Cities, and the Modern World

The Ghost Map: The Story of London's Most Terrifying Epidemic - and How It Changed Science, Cities, and the Modern World by Steven Johnson
My rating: 3 of 5 stars

This book will make you want to question the purity of your water system, and will drive you to wash your hands. A lot.

Cholera. We don't hear much about it anymore, but it used to be a big problem. Thankfully we have moved into more sanitary times, in part due to the work of Dr. John Snow, who knows more than nothing. He probably had less fabulous hair, though. He mapped the clusters of outbreaks and determined the source was tied to the Broad Street pump. Groundbreaking work for that time, and as you would expect, no one believed him. But eventually the outbreak was contained, sanitation became better, and people lived longer.

I found it a fascinating read. Very glad to live in the 21st century where medicine, and life, has evolved to allow me to live to be 114. 3 stars.

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