Rats, Lice and History

By Hans Zizsser

This popular and unusual book by Hans Zinsser, a brilliant physician and researcher, takes an unusual look at history by examining the influence of diseases on society, and will prove a fascinating read for anyone with an interest in biology or medical history.

• Language: English
• Publisher: Willard Press
• Release date: Apr 16, 2013
• ISBN: 9781447496854

Reviews for Rats, Lice and History

[dandelionroots · Rating: 5 out of 5 stars]

Published in 1944, Zinsser leads you through his avenues of interest (research) in hunt of an understanding of Typhus - he christens the endeavor a biography. Splendid. This is the style of book I want to read (well, minus the side comments on the worth of women and other races/ethnicities).---Chapter X: More about the louse: the need for this chapter will be apparent to those who have entered into the spirit of this biographyTyphus is not dead. It will live on for centuries, and it will continue to break into the open whenever human stupidity and brutality give it a chance.

[hcubic · Rating: 5 out of 5 stars]

A very witty history of the plague. Loved it!

[jwhenderson_1 · Rating: 4 out of 5 stars]

Even though this book was written at the turn of the previous century, it hasn't become any less interesting or funny. Hans Zinsser has created an eccentric view of history, rambling about rats, typhus, the Roman Empire, lice, and everything. You can't read it in one sitting, because you'll have to keep taking breaks to calm down from the experience. I liked the book because because I learned so much - this book is a classic microbiology textbook among other things. My favorite foonote was associated with a word I'd never heard -- it said, "If the reader does not know the meaning of this word, that is unfortunate." That gives you an inkling of what is in store for you if you choose to read this book.

[bug_girl · Rating: 5 out of 5 stars]

I guarantee you will not find another parasitology book that mentions the poetry of T.S. Eliot, Gertrude Stein, and lice in the same chapter. A very fun read.

[cgodsil_1 · Rating: 3 out of 5 stars]

This book has many very positive reviews, and is still in printafter 75 years, so it must have something going for it.It is certainly well written and an easy read, with flashes ofsardonic humor. Nonetheless I found it slight and discursiveand have no good explanation for its popularity. Perhaps if youabsolutely nothing about epidemic diseases and their continualravages and are more concerned with literary style...