3 Review(s)

Who's in charge here? Humans? No way. Microbes don't just outnumber us by nearly 1021 to 1: they run the Earth. In Germs, Genes and Civilization, Dr. David Clark tells the story of the microbe-driven epidemics that have repeatedly molded our human destinies. You'll discover how your genes have been shaped through millennia spent battling against infectious diseases. You'll learn how epidemics have transformed human history, over and over again, from ancient Egypt to Mexico, the Romans to Attila the Hun. You'll learn how the Black Death epidemic ended the Middle Ages, making possible the Renaissance, western democracy, and the scientific revolution. Clark demonstrates how epidemics have repeatedly shaped not just our health and genetics, but also our history, culture, and politics. You'll even learn how they may influence religion and ethics, including the ways they may help trigger cultural cycles of puritanism and promiscuity. Perhaps most fascinating of all, Clark reveals the latest scientific and philosophical insights into the interplay between microbes, humans, and society - and previews what just might come next. Salient Features How epidemics have shaped human evolution, culture, politics, wars& even religion and ethics! The "good side" of epidemics - and the surprising debts we owe to killer diseases. How epidemics may have triggered western democracy, the European conquest of America, the survival and ultimate fall of Rome, and even history's repeated cycles of puritanism and promiscuity. Emerging diseases and the future of the human species.