A history of the world in six plagues

Here is a deeply reported, insightful, and literary account of humankind’s battles with epidemic disease and their outsized role in deepening inequality along racial, ethnic, class and gender lines. Epidemic diseases enter the world by chance, but they become catastrophic by human design. With clear-eyed research and lush prose, ‘A History of the World in Six Plagues’ shows that throughout history, outbreaks of disease have been exacerbated by and gone on to further expand the racial, economic and sociopolitical divides we allow to fester in times of good health.