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| The Ghost Map: The Story of London's Most Terrifying Epidemic--and How It Changed Science, Cities, and the Modern World | 
 enlarge | Author: Steven Johnson
Publisher: Riverhead Trade
Discount Category: Book
Selling Price: $15.00
Buy Used: $5.80
Potential Savings: $9.20 (61%)
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Customer Ratings:  104 comments
Media: Paperback
Edition: 1 Reprint
Number Of Items: 1
Pages: 320
Shipping Weight (pounds): 0.6
Dimensions (inch): 8 x 5.4 x 0.8
ISBN: 1594482691
Dewey Decimal Number: 941
EAN: 9781594482694
Publication Date: October 2, 2007
Availability: Usually ships in 1-2 business days
Condition: New book (remainder mark/cover will have some shelf wear or small tear, bent corner or crease)
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| Customer Comments:
Ghost Map didn't quite lead where I wanted to go April 11, 2008
2 out of 3 found this comment useful.
This book is about the cholera outbreaks in 1800's London and the efforts of two men to combat them. The author Steven Johnson did a very good job of leading me along the path of clues that eventually lead to the answer to the cause of the outbreaks and it was hard to put the book down. He also very competently explained why old, incorrect theories persist even in the face of new information, represented respectively by miasma and contagion. What was scary was that cities were so primitive in terms of public health up until so recently. But in other respects I found this book strangely unfulfilling. I felt that I hadn't learned that much about John Snow, the father of modern epidemiology. In addition, Johnson spent considerable effort in discussing the sociology of cities and how this changed as a result of the London cholera epidemic, especially in his Conclusion and Epilogue. I would rather have read about what cities did to improve public health, as this was what I wanted to learn about. If you are interested in the sociological aspects of epidemics then this book might be for you. But clearly, this book is not about epidemiology and about the development of public health. If this is your interest, then you might be vaguely disappointed.
 love/hate of book April 8, 2008
0 out of 1 found this comment useful.
I enjoyed the basic story but he goes on and on at points about things that got rather boring. Explaining the map without showing the map did not help a lot. I still would have given it three or four stars until the last chapter of the book where he blathers on about his pet issues which I didn't think really applied to the story. He goes on and on with his love of big cities acting as if they are all wonderful with no problems. When he started in on how if we all lived in a huge city the environment would be better off I was ready to toss the book in the trash. (He even feels Portland, Oregon is too small...I grew up in Portland and feel it is way too big!) His point should have been that even today scientists who go against the current belief get shut out but he didn't make that connection at all with current science. That would have made a much better conclusion than that we all need to move to giant cities!
 Exceptional Book on Early Cholera Research and Prevention April 2, 2008
1 out of 1 found this comment useful.
This is one of those books that I have considered reading many times. I finally decided to read it after listening to the author speak at a conference. In fact, I took the time to have a quick chat with him after his remarks. If you get the chance, I highly recommend taking the opportunity to hear him speak as he has an excellent topic and wonderful stage presence.
Contents:
Preface
Chapter 1: The Night-Soil Men
Chapter 2: Eyes Sunk, Lips Dark Blue
Chapter 3: The Investigation
Chapter 4: That Is To Say, Jo Has Not Yet Died
Chapter 5: All Smell Is Disease
Chapter 6: Building the Case
Chapter 7: The Pump Handle
Chapter 8: The Ghost Map
Epilogue; Broad Street Revisited
Steven Johnson's book, The Ghost Map, tells the story of a cholera outbreak, Dr. John Snow, clergyman Henry Whitehead, and the Soho area of London in 1854. At the time, London was the largest city in the world, with a population of about 2.4 million. The Soho area was one of the most densely populated, with 432 people per acre. Steven Johnson reports that Manhattan, today, only has about 100 people per acre. With that many people packed into a few city blocks, disease could run rampant through the area. And so it did. One evening, a woman throws her sick baby's excrement into the cesspool in the basement of their building. With that normal act, she unleashes the worst outbreak of cholera in London's history. John Snow, a local but prominent doctor, starts to investigate the outbreak, using his theory that it is transmitted through the water. Unknown to him, Henry Whitehead, a clergyman in a local parish, is also tracking down the cause of cholera, but he is basing his investigation using the conventional thought that cholera is transmitted through "miasma" (bad smells).
Dr. Snow, while a very famous doctor (he advanced the use of ether and chloroform as anesthetics, among other things) was not a resident of Soho. Henry Whitehead lived in and knew almost everyone in Soho, as he routinely made his rounds of the neighborhood, in addition to seeing the residents in his church. While they came from different backgrounds and held opposing views on cholera, they met and pooled their knowledge. Whitehead came around to backing Snow's theory that cholera was waterborne. John Snow is credited with creating a groundbreaking map, the Ghost Map, based on his research. After their work together, Whitehead and Snow became very good friends.
Steven Johnson takes the reader on a fascinating tour of 1850's London. He explains the city, the people, and the prevailing water policies of most large cities at the time. As the story centers on Dr. Snow and Henry Whitehead, he provides you with enough background on those two people that you have an excellent understanding of how they came to that one section of London to combat one of the worse urban outbreaks of cholera. I enjoyed his descriptions of the work and home life, not only in Soho, but also in greater London. And he kept the reader interested in the research that John Snow was undertaking, as it was important, innovative work. While the majority of the book is dedicated to a specific cholera outbreak, the last part of the book focuses on the modern city and the issues that it faces. I thought that a lot of that part was good, but it seemed a little out of place with the rest. It felt as though Johnson was stretching to make a point. I understood where he was trying to go, but I couldn't make a connection. That being said, I still think that this is a great book.
Excellent Book Covering the History of John Snow and the Transmission of Cholera March 25, 2008
1 out of 1 found this comment useful.
I am a primary care physician using maps to study patterns of health care access in my community. I thoroughly enjoyed reading this recount of the history a community learning how to promote public health in a rapidly growing population center. The lessons learned and the example set by John Snow and others as they uncovered the mysteries of how diseases were transmitted is a fascinating tale and I could not put the book down until I reached the last page.
I would highly recommend this book to anyone interested in public health, epidemiology, geography, and/or community-based research.
 Lack of maps and diagrams diminishes the story March 25, 2008
2 out of 3 found this comment useful.
I don't understand how an author or publisher can produce a book with "Map" in the title and provide only one so-so map in the work. How about maps that show the SoHo neighborhood as it relates to others and to central London? Why don't we see maps that show the water intakes and sewer outlets along the Thames? How about a diagram that shows a cross-sectional view of the basements, cesspools, drains, sewer lines, wells, etc? Unfortunately, the author leaves all this to our imagination or to another source. That approach--common these days across many authors and publishers--diminishes the story. An interesting story, but only three stars.
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