{"product_id":"pathogenesis-a-history-of-the-world-in-eight-plagues-jonathan-kennedy-paperback","title":"Pathogenesis: A History of the World in Eight Plagues -- Jonathan Kennedy, Paperback","description":"\u003cstrong\u003eNATIONAL BESTSELLER - A \"gripping\" (\u003ci\u003eThe Washington Post\u003c\/i\u003e) account of how the major transformations in history--from the rise of \u003ci\u003eHomo sapiens\u003c\/i\u003e to the birth of capitalism--have been shaped not by humans but by germs\u003c\/strong\u003e \u003cp\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cstrong\u003e\"Superbly written . . . Kennedy seamlessly weaves together scientific and historical research, and his confident authorial voice is sure to please readers of Yuval Noah Harari or Rutger Bregman.\"--\u003ci\u003eThe Times\u003c\/i\u003e (U.K.)\u003c\/strong\u003e \u003cp\u003e\u003c\/p\u003eAccording to the accepted narrative of progress, humans have thrived thanks to their brains and brawn, collectively bending the arc of history. But in this revelatory book, Professor Jonathan Kennedy argues that the myth of human exceptionalism overstates the role that we play in social and political change. Instead, it is the humble microbe that wins wars and topples empires. \u003cp\u003e\u003c\/p\u003eDrawing on the latest research in fields ranging from genetics and anthropology to archaeology and economics, \u003ci\u003ePathogenesis\u003c\/i\u003e takes us through sixty thousand years of history, exploring eight major outbreaks of infectious disease that have made the modern world. Bacteria and viruses were protagonists in the demise of the Neanderthals, the growth of Islam, the transition from feudalism to capitalism, the devastation wrought by European colonialism, and the evolution of the United States from an imperial backwater to a global superpower. Even Christianity rose to prominence in the wake of a series of deadly pandemics that swept through the Roman Empire in the second and third centuries: Caring for the sick turned what was a tiny sect into one of the world's major religions. \u003cp\u003e\u003c\/p\u003eBy placing disease at the center of his wide-ranging history of humankind, Kennedy challenges some of the most fundamental assumptions about our collective past--and urges us to view this moment as another disease-driven inflection point that will change the course of history. Provocative and brimming with insight, \u003ci\u003ePathogenesis\u003c\/i\u003e transforms our understanding of the human story.\u003cp\u003e\u003cstrong\u003eAuthor:\u003c\/strong\u003e Jonathan Kennedy\u003cbr\u003e\u003cstrong\u003ePublisher:\u003c\/strong\u003e Crown Publishing Group (NY)\u003cbr\u003e\u003cstrong\u003ePublished:\u003c\/strong\u003e 3\/12\/2024\u003cbr\u003e\u003cstrong\u003ePages:\u003c\/strong\u003e 320\u003cbr\u003e\u003cstrong\u003eBinding Type:\u003c\/strong\u003e Paperback\u003cbr\u003e\u003cstrong\u003eWeight:\u003c\/strong\u003e 0.45 lbs\u003cbr\u003e\u003cstrong\u003eSize:\u003c\/strong\u003e 7.9\" H x 5.1\" L x 0.9\" W\u003cbr\u003e\u003cstrong\u003eISBN:\u003c\/strong\u003e 9780593240496\u003c\/p\u003e","brand":"Flowerburst LLC","offers":[{"title":"Default Title","offer_id":49533555245360,"sku":"9780593240496","price":20.0,"currency_code":"USD","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0879\/2712\/8368\/files\/9780593240496.jpg?v=1774845361","url":"https:\/\/flowerburst.co\/products\/pathogenesis-a-history-of-the-world-in-eight-plagues-jonathan-kennedy-paperback","provider":"Flowerburst","version":"1.0","type":"link"}