Book Description

Widely acknowledged as the definitive reference source of its kind, Principles and Practice of Infectious Diseases is back-in a new 6th Edition! Authored by a "who's who" of experts from around the world, this 2-volume set encompasses all that is currently known about the epidemiology, etiology, pathology, microbiology, immunology, and treatment of infectious agents. Completely revised and updated-and with a bold, new 4-color format-it is a complete, essential compendium of knowledge on this vast and complex subject. Now includes a bound-in CD-ROM containing all of the images from the book available for PowerPoint download. * Offers state-of-the-art guidelines for disease control and treatment * Covers disease by microbe and by clinical syndrome, making it easy to find any subject of interest. * Features complete coverage of all aspects of HIV and AIDS ... Read more

Reviews (4)

The book you need
As an infectious disease fellow, I recommend that anyone who want be an ID man should have such a book. Most infectious problems and diseases have been detailed in this book, although there are far going of emerging diseases and new antibiotics.
The only shortcomes of this book are lackiing comprehensive details and reveiw of antimicrobial therapy for some disease entities.

A good clinical microbiology text
The two volume set is indeed a comprehensive reference work, but individual chapter can be read by themselves. I use this book on almost a daily basis, the only negative against it is that such a large book by its size can only be updated at intervals of a number of years so a folder in which to put your acculated journal articles next to it, until the next edition is advised as, infectious diseases is not a static field. Since there is a CD rom available now that may well be worth checking out. In closing for anybody involved in anything from clinical microbiology to a infectious disease specialist this book is a must.

Every Infectious Disease specialist has one!
I'm an Infectious Diseases fellow, and everyone who rotates through this training program, obtains in some way or another, a copy of this book.

It is an awesome review of every known topic in infectious diseases. The first volume consists of I. Principles II. Syndromes. Principles focuses on topics ranging from antibiotics, their mechanism of action, pharmocokinetics and methods of bacterial resistance, to epidemiology and infection control. Syndromes focuses on various clinical problems from the "common cold" to endocarditis. These are heavily researched, and supported with your standard references section for further investigation. Each disease is discussed in detail and includes clinical symptoms, epidemiology, etiology, complications, and treatment. My only criticism is that the treatment sections - often the focus of any infectious disease consult, lack in sufficient detail. And often remain perhaps intentionally vague because of the controversy that exists in the literature regarding treatment duration, and antibiotic choice.

The second volume has two sections III. Microbes IV. Problems. Microbes goes into excellent detail regarding each individual pathogen and leaves no stone unturned. The Problems section discusses various clinical situations often facing the infectious disease specialist, infections in the transplant patient, immunization issues, prophylaxis for surgeries.

This textbook was written primarily as a reference by doctors for other doctors, and is certainly not a leisurely read to follow up The Hot Zone by Richard Preston. But if you're looking for the ultimate reference textbook dealing with infectious diseases, look no further, and have no doubt. Mandell is what you're looking for.

It's the infectious bible
This book is a detailed manual of infectious disease, you could find anythig you want reading it. Please read it! ... Read more

Book Description

The rapid changes in the STD arena are defined here by the leading figures in the field. Foremost among the new material is the superlative coverage of HIV and AIDS. You'll find diagnosis and management guidelines, HIV in reproductive health and pediatrics, establishing prevention programs. HIV in developing countries and more. All other STDs are reviewed in depth, and the winning organization reviews diseases by underlying pathogen (bacteria, fungi, protozoa, etc). Also, fully updated coverage of medical, legal and social issues is supplied to give the specialist or primary care physician broad based coverage beyond diagnosis and management concerns. ... Read more

Book Description

This popular book applies the author's many years of clinical and teaching experience to make the principles and methods of epidemiology easy to understand and enjoyable to read about. A clear, concise writing style and just the right dose of humor explain the role of epidemiology in measuring disease in a community, estimating risks, and influencing public policy and ethical concerns. Line diagrams, cartoons, and review questions with answers reinforce the text.

* Emphasizes both the underlying concepts as well as the practical uses of epidemiology in public health and in clinical practice.
* Organizes information in three logical sections: The Epidemiologic Approach to Disease and Intervention • Using Epidemiology to Identify the Cause of Disease, and • Applying Epidemiology to Evaluation and Policy.
* Systemizes learning and review with study questions in each section and an answer key and index.
* Illustrates textual information with line diagrams and cartoons. ... Read more

Reviews (13)

Excellent and clear text
This book explains epidemiologic concepts clearly, giving good examples and having helpful illustrations. I recommend it highly for beginners as well as for persons familiar with epidemiology who want to review previously learned methods. I have used it to successfully explain concepts to non-epidemiologists.

Excellent Introductory Text
When it comes to textbooks, the section I usually use most often is the index so I don't have to plod through pages of material to find the information I need. This is one of the few textbooks I've ever read cover to cover and actually enjoyed. The text is very readable with many examples to demonstrate the concepts discussed. There are also plenty of illustrations and charts to reinforce the information. Also, this isn't just one more book taking up space on my bookshelf -- I still use it as a reference to clarify questions that come up. Epidemiology is a clearly written, methodologically presented introduction to the most important concepts in the field.

Good, but not a best book to read
Compare the costs paid and benefits gained from reading, I am sure that there are other books better than this. Most contents in this book were described in very long sentences, although they actually need only 30% of all words. Some good points are to the pictures illustrated in some chapters. My recommendation to those with limited paying capacity, you should buy Heineken's book instead. Trust me.

Comprehensive and Thorough
Within a short time of receiving this book, I found a number of very helpful references that contributed useful information to a doctoral research paper. The book is written well and offers easy access to specific epidemiological issues via the detailed index at the back.

The best beginning epidemiology text
This is the best beginning text on epidemiology available-- no other text comes close. The writing is clear and concise, a rare event in science texts. The style, content and layout are extraordinary. Dr. Gordis creates friendly understandable explanations from potentially confusing topics. ... Read more

Book Description

The most important concept in statistics is the probability model. Only by fully understanding this model can one fully understand statistical analysis. Utilizing models in epidemiology, the authors of this self-contained account have chosen to emphasize the role of likelihood. This approach to statistics is both simple and intuitively satisfying. More complex problems can be tackled by natural extensions of the simple methods. This exploration of the statistical basis of epidemiology has been written specifically for professionals and graduate students in epidemiology, clinical epidemiology, or biostatistics. The simple prerequisite--basic training in biology--assumes no previous knowledge and the mathematics is deliberately kept at a manageable level. Based on a highly successful course by two internationally known authors, this book explains the essentials of statistics for all epidemiologists. ... Read more

Reviews (2)

Outstanding mongraph for biostatisticians
I find all other so-called biostatistics books are helpless
until I have read this book. This book is written based on
Clayton and Hills's past experience in applying statistics
in their studies. They can illustrate most difficult concepts
by very simple examples and words which are totally differnt
than other text and teaching books. For other books, you
can learn a lot of various statistical techniques, but you
cannot understand what is the core idea behind the statistics.
You may get it from this book.

A very good for the non-Mathematician
Clayton and Hill's book is an excellent introduction to the Statistics underlying epidemiology for readers who are not specialist Mathematicians. The book does explain fairly erudite ideas, but it does so gently and the Mathematics used is elementary. There are also many not-too-hard exercises at the ends of sections, making this a very gopd bok to learn from. Highly recommended. ... Read more

Book Description

Information on virtually every known disease (approx. 600) ... Read more

Reviews (3)

Professional Guide to Diseases
This is an excellent book, pure and simple. It covers a wide variety of diseases, and explains each one well without going into excess and causing "information overload" (as some other medical reference books tend to do). Its format is clear and easily readable. It offers sound clinical and laboratory findings, making it a great resource material for students (such as myself). What impresses me the most is its coverage of the more rare diseases, something often neglected in other texts. I have found it invaluable in my studies, and highly recommend it.

Professional Guide to Diseases
This is the BEST medical book to have in your home health care library. I have the second addition and have used it countless time to look up ailments for my family and friends. Although it is written for the medical professional, I find it very readable for a layman like myself. When I became very ill with viral encephalitis, this book helped me understand what was happening to me, how to take care of myself, and to show my family what I was going through so they wouldn't worry. ... Again, I would recomend this book to the non-medical reader as a wonderful reference they will come bact to time and time again. ... And as an author, this text offers good hard facts on medical conditions my fictional characters have. ... Good book, I'm ordering the newest version today.

Professional Guide to Diseases 6th edition
The information is given to the reader in segments that are easy to follow and concise in content. It is organized well with contents at beginning of each chapter as well as an index in back of book for more specific topics. This book covers lab findings, signs & symptoms, nursing interventions and nursing diagnosis on each topic as well as much, much more. It does not limit itself to only the most common ailments but includes information on rarer diseases, as well. It has been an invaluable tool in my nursing practice. ... Read more

Book Description

* Includes a new chapter on logistic regression.
* Discusses the design and analysis of random trials.
* Explores the latest applications of sample size tables.
* Contains a new section on binomial distribution. ... Read more

Book Description

Extensively revised and updated throughout, with seven entirelynew chapters and the insights of 31 new contributors, the Third Editionreflects the explosive growth of information in the dynamic field ofimmunology. Coverage includes recent groundbreaking discoveries onmolecular events that regulate the immune response, antigen processingand presentation, cytokines, and immune responses to infectiousagents.Six chapters in the Third Edition focus on completely newtopics--immunoglobulin class switching; somatic mutation and affinitymaturation; immunosuppression; and immunity to viruses, intracellularbacteria, and extracellular bacteria. Antigen processing andpresentation, which were only touched on in the previous edition, arenow described in detail in a separate chapter. Coverage of the role ofspecific cytokines in the immune response has been greatly expanded.Chapters on HIV infection, primary immunodeficiency diseases, allergyand hypersensitivity, and immunoparasitology have been rewritten by newcontributors who are preeminent authorities on these diseases. Allchapters include updated references. ... Read more

Reviews (4)

excellent
the next best thing to actually following the literature. a great way to get a background in a less familiar topic.

Fundamental, not necessarily introductory
This book is in many rspects the Immunology equivalent of the G&G pharmacology bible. Or in other words: if you do Immunology for a living, this book should always be within reach. Just like G&G's book, Fundamental Immunology started out in the same way the "encyclopedia" started in the Age of Enlightment: a compendium of all the knowledge available. With the exponential expansion of both Pharmacology and Immunology, these disciplines no longer fit in one, ten, or even a hundred volumes each, and tough choices have to be made. In Paul's FI, these choices are very much geared towards the professional, and far less so to the student. Yet, many of the subjects are treated in a way that not only incorperates much of the up to date details, but also gives thorough treatment of the fundamental concepts behind them. Thus, this book should also be the text of choice for those students that have sufficient tutoring resources available to guide them through the maze of the wild and wonderful world of Immunology.

It can be used as a dictionary.
It is not recommended as a text book, but is as a dictionary. Because it contains many informations about immunology and few illastlations.

Not the best book on the subject
Overly complex in exposition. Insufficiently illustrated. Represents an NIH viewpoint, not the best in science. Does not relate the molecular details to the cellular interactions sufficiently. ... Read more

Book Description

The vastly expanded Second Edition of Dr. Rothman's acclaimedModern Epidemiology reflects the remarkable conceptual development ofthis evolving science and the engagement of epidemiologists with anincreasing range of current public health concerns. This landmark workis the most comprehensive and cohesive text on the principles andmethods of contemporary epidemiologic research.Coauthored by twoleading epidemiologists, with 15 additional contributors, the SecondEdition presents a much broader range of concepts and methods than Dr.Rothman's single-authored original edition. Coverage of basic measuresand study types is more thorough and includes a new chapter on fieldmethods. New chapters on advanced topics in data analysis, such ashierarchical regression, are also included. A new section coversspecific areas of research such as infectious disease epidemiology,ecologic studies, disease surveillance, analysis of vital statistics,screening, clinical epidemiology, environmental and occupationalepidemiology, reproductive and perinatal epidemiology, geneticepidemiology, and nutritional epidemiology. ... Read more

Reviews (14)

The best and greatest Epidemiology book ever
This edition is the best Epi book ever. Even though it is quite complicated and sometimes difficult to fully understand, it does provide a state-of-the-art knowledge and vision into Epidemiologic Methods. The book is the great reference to Epidemiologists or ones who would like to know Epi methods for their research and other purposes. Thanks to Dr. Rothman and Dr. Greenland's clear minds and great contributions from many other authors, the book is much updated and more comprehensive than the first edition. You definitely should have one on the shelf.

unnecessary details on statistics subject
I agree with many reviewers here that the book is great, but poorly organized and put too much on statistical methods. I have read through it from cover to cover for my exams. Nevertheless, the first part discussion is very good, but you need to read other books before reading Rothman's book. Acutally, I really hate Greenland's writing, it is too obscure. I would not recommend this book to students.

The basic premise of the Rothman tome:
"Here's what everyone else thinks about this topic (you name it), but here's why they're wrong and it's really a whole lot more complicated than that." This book verges on the surreal - there's the feeling that a little peyote might help one "break through" and suddenly absorb the 5th dimensional world of complete mastery of all the quasireligious mysteries of epi.
Yeah, I was exposed to it in my very first epi class and as others have said, it's not for beginning students; however, my professors (30 years into their fields) tell me they still turn to it on occasion. Kidding aside, there were some profound truths that (I think) I got. But ask a VERY simple question, like, does external validity refer to the source population or populations outside the source pop, and you will find yourself trudging through tar for hours with gaiters on.
Look at it this way: a priest gets to spend the rest of his life trying to refine his understanding of the Bible... well, guess what you'll be doing, pal. Might as well not get frustrated about it...

This book is USELESS!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
Don't invest in this book, even if it is considered required reading for your course(s), you will be much better off... trust me. THis book is supposedly cutting edge in terms of epidemiological methods (whatever that means). But, the authors have written this book in a way that is confusing, misleading, and uninterpretable. The chapters written by Rothman and/or Greenland seem to purposely confuse the reader with unnecessary teminology and excessive use of equations. Moreover, this book could not be more poorly organized. Don't waste your time or money. I relied on "Epidemiology in Medicine" by Hennekens (which is not great, but good enough) and web-based resources to get through my doctoral program in Epidemiology. My classmates hated Rothman too.

Buy "Epidumbiology Without Numbers for Dummies" Instead!
This is the wurst ridden epidumbiology book I ever red.

Us epidumbiologists don't need to know all this hard stuff. We need more ez 2 read books with short wurds and no equations and no Greak letters. Buks that tell us in simpleton terms we ken under stand some wrong weighs to do our studies and sum wrong wheys to annulize our data and sam wrong waze to interprut our resultz.

But most of all we need bigger pictures to color with our crayons. The only gud coloring pictures in this buk are those stoopid Rothman's Pies. But I keep going outside the lines. ... Read more

Book Description

Millions of people in the third world die from diseases that are rare in the first world--diseases like malaria, tuberculosis, and schistosomiasis. AIDS, which is now usually treated in rich countries, still ravages the world's poor. Vaccines offer the best hope for controlling these diseases and could dramatically improve health in poor countries. But developers have little incentive to undertake the costly and risky research needed to develop vaccines. This is partly because the potential consumers are poor, but also because governments drive down prices.

In Strong Medicine, Michael Kremer and Rachel Glennerster offer an innovative yet simple solution to this worldwide problem: "Pull" programs to stimulate research. Here's how such programs would work. Funding agencies would commit to purchase viable vaccines if and when they were developed. This would create the incentives for vaccine developers to produce usable products for these neglected diseases. Private firms, rather than funding agencies, would pick which research strategies to pursue. After purchasing the vaccine, funders could distribute it at little or no cost to the afflicted countries.

Strong Medicine details just how these legally binding commitments would work. Ultimately, if no vaccines were developed, such a commitment would cost nothing. But if vaccines were developed, the program would save millions of lives and would be among the world's most cost-effective health interventions.

... Read more

Book Description

Johns Hopkins Univ., Baltimore, MD. A Brandon/Hill Medical List first-purchase and minimal-core selection. Comprehensive, major reference to patient care and preventive medicine. For primary care physicians and residents, internists, and general and family practitioners in the office setting. Previous edition: c1995. DNLM: Ambulatory Care. ... Read more

Reviews (2)

Supervising Physician says this is the one to have!
The SP I'm with told me this has an answer for almost all my questions. He refers to it frequently himself-- a very good reference!

A one stop shop for medical information.
You will not find a more complete and comprehensive medical resource. This book tackles every disease I can think of. ... Read more

Amazon.com

Among candidates for world's worst job, disease detective ranks pretty high. In Beating Back the Devil, Maryn McKenna examines the everyday fascinations and horrors faced by the CDC's Epidemic Intelligence Service. On a few hours' notice, these physicians are ready to travel anywhere in the world to track down new medical threats. McKenna writes about the group's response to such frightening incidents as the first outbreaks of Ebola and SARS. In matter-of-fact, first-person narratives, EIS doctors tell how they deal with crises brought on not only by biological threats, but by public health mismanagement, terrorism, and war. One doctor describes trying to save children while working in conflict-torn Zaire:

"We would go into a center and find kids lying on the floor, severely dehydrated, with a clogged IV," he said. "Then we would go outside and find the relief workers building a stone fireplace.... And we'd have to say, Hot meals would be great, but in a few days you're not going to have any living kids to cook meals for.... Take this oral rehydration solution and sit by this child and spoon it into his mouth.... Don't do anything else, or this child is going to be dead."

Reviews (5)

IT HAS A REFINED ANALYTICAL APPROACH
"Designing Clinical Research: An Epidermiologic Approach" did a thorough analysis of various methodologies, which medical scientists could use in everyday research. It, first of all, outlined all the essential steps (used in epidemiological research), before delving into the analysis of each step. Its information is current and versatile. But, certain important issues like research-funding and statistics received less than expected attention. Despite this flaw, I would still recommend this book to scientists. Its pros did exceed its cons by a mile.

Invaluable book
I bought this book for a course I am taking as part of my fellowship. This book focuses on the concepts of study design and critical aspects of clinical research. To my surprise, what I found was that I have a greater understanding of how to intrepret literature. This is mostly because I'm able to view it from an investigator's point of view. I'm now able to thoroughly dissect a study and identify the weaknesses, etc (without even reading the discussion section). For those who plan on doing clinical research or just practicing evidenced based medicine, this book is a must.

excessively convenience-oriented book
On the whole this book is an excellent work.

But there is some possibility of fostering illusions in many readers' mind that they actually have great power of research in spite of not having good understanding on basic principles such as statistics.

It is not sufficiently equipped for graduate student or researcher above the level.

THIS IS A MUST HAVE
This is an amazing textbook that is a must have for all healthcare workers or anyone involved or wanting to be involved in clinical research. The test is organized and extremely well written. I use it to teach clinical research design to my students, residents, and fellows. Hats off to Hulley et al on a job well done. It was worth the 13 year wait for the 2nd edition.

Research design: A superb guide
This is one of the best books I have read on how to design a research project. It starts with key, but often neglected, issues such as how to choose a well-focussed research question and steps through all the elements of study design, data collection, quality assurance, and basic grant-writing.

A "must-have" that needs a second edition! ... Read more

Book Description

This innovative new text provides a current, comprehensive introduction to principles applied in the practice of epidemiology in public health. It incorporates modern ideas in epidemiological thinking that have been largely omitted in other textbooks, providing an overview that is up-to-date and thorough. Essentials of Epidemiology in Public Health will familiarize readers with terminology and key concepts in the design, analysis, and interpretation of epidemiological research, giving students the tools they need to critically evaluate scientific literature.

Successfully tested in the authors' courses at Boston University and Harvard University for five years, this text combines theory and practice in presenting traditional and new epidemiologic concepts. Broad in scope, the text opens with five chapters covering the basic epidemiologic concepts and data sources. A major emphasis is placed on study design, with separate chapters devoted to each of the three main analytic designs: experimental, cohort, and case-control studies.

Full chapters on bias, confounding, and random error, including the roll of statistics in epidemiology, ensure that students are well-equipped with the necessary information to interpret the results of epidemiologic studies. An entire chapter is also devoted to the concept of effect measure modification, an often-neglected topic in introductory textbooks. Up-to-date examples from the epidemiologic literature on diseases of public health importance are provided throughout the book. ... Read more

Reviews (1)

At last, a good intro to epi book for students!
This book is an excellent introduction to epidemiology. The authors present epidemiologic concepts in an easy-to-understand manner with interesting supportive examples from the fields of reproductive health and HIV epidemiology. In addition to the standard chapters on study design, bias, and confounding, the book also includes very good chapters on measurement error, causation, and screening, as well as tried-and-proven guidelines for a critical review of epidemiologic studies. This text should be very helpful to beginning masters and doctoral students in epidemiology and public health. ... Read more

Amazon.com

Where's your next disease coming from? From anywhere in the world--from overflowing sewage in Cairo, from a war zone in Rwanda, from an energy-efficient office building in California, from a pig farm in China or North Carolina. "Preparedness demands understanding," writes Pulitzer-winning journalist Laurie Garrett, and in this precursor to Betrayal of Trust: The Collapse of Global Public Health, she shows a clear understanding of the patterns lying beneath the new diseases in the headlines (AIDS, Lyme) and the old ones resurgent (tuberculosis, cholera). As the human population explodes, ecologies collapse and simplify, and disease organisms move into the gaps. As globalization continues, diseases can move from one country to another as fast as an airplane can fly.

While the human race battles itself ... the advantage moves to the microbes' court. They are our predators and they will be victorious if we, Homo sapiens, do not learn how to live in a rational global village that affords the microbes few opportunities.

Her picture is not entirely bleak. Epidemics grow when a disease outbreak is amplified--by contaminated water supplies, by shared needles, by recirculated air, by prostitution. And controlling the amplifiers of disease is within our power; it's a matter of money, people, and will. --Mary Ellen Curtin ... Read more

Reviews (51)

Survival of the fittest.....
It's taken me a week to read Laurie Garrett's THE COMING PLAGUE. I work for one of the organizations Garrett cites frequently, and was aware of much of the content of the book before I began to read, but it helps to be reminded.

In the mid-70s I studied epidemiology, demography and biostatistics at Georgetown as part of my graduate work. One of the statistics I learned to compute was a neonatal mortality rate based on specific causes of death--infectious and other. We were convinced the infectious disease rates had been dropping for hundreds of years owing to human intervention and would continue to do so. Shortly after I graduated, drug resistant strains of microbes caused the infectious rates to climb again.

The world's population has grown dramatically in the past 100 years (1.5 billion to 6 billion) and in all liklihood will continue to expand a while longer (15 billion by 2050), but the AIDS plague with all it's attendent drug-resisitant diseases may do for humanity what the Black Plague did for humanity in the 14th Century--eliminate much of it.

Garrett says the microbes don't have to win, but I'm afraid they will. "Know-nothing" politicians, "capable-survivor" bureacrats, tyrants like Idi Amin and Sadam Hussein, wars spurred by ethnic hatred and religious fanaticism, homophobia, misogyny, unbridled and unregulated international commerce and exploitation of labor, degradation of the world's forests and oceans, and refugee movements all ensure the microbes will win. From the tuberculosis epidemics of the industrial age of the 19th century, to the spread of drug resistant malaria by troops and civilians in WWII, to the current spread of AIDS and drug resistent forms of TB across the world, the germs are having a field day. Garrett's book's subtitle is "Newly Emerging Diseases in a World Out of Balance" -- and yes, Al Gore is mentioned-- a man who actually understands the disease/ecological balancing issues.

The world took a giant backstep in the 1980s when the U.S. leaders pretty much looked the other way and AIDS got the upper hand. With the return of the same politicians to power, why shouldn't we dispair, especially when the first act of the new administration is to pull funding from family planning agencies, who are fighting the very factors that can lead to the end of humanity--overpopulation and unprotected sex.

I kept thinking of Edgar Allen Poe's short story, "The Mask of the Red Death" as I read this book--During a plague, a group of wealthy nobles and their families sequester themselves away in a castle where they think they are safe from the disease. One night they hold a masked ball and discover that death is in their midst. You can't run and you can't hide--death is in our midst. So, you better act. Garrett lists the things we need to do, and if your're reading this review, you probably already know many of them, but, read her book anyway, just to make sure.

This is your wake up call
If you live in the comfy West, Third World health issues can seem about as remote as McDonald's on Mars. Laurie Garrett's accessible, passionate book reminds us that despite the cultural, political and economical crevasses that separate nations, humankind is united by a number of factors, and vulnerability to the microbial world is one of them. Disease has no respect for boundaries and complacency is our enemy. The Coming Plague is indeed an elaborate, riveting detective story and Garrett's CDC cowboy heroes who became the cavalry in the most remote and dangerous of locations in their search for the source of contagious disease, became my own. I note that there has been criticism of Garrett for for alleged scientific and research inaccuracies. The message is still crystal clear: the health of humankind needs a global perspective and global policy. It's a weighty subject but Garrett turns it into a thrilling read that I couldn't put down. I came away convinced that no matter who we are, we should be cannily aware of the newly emerging diseases, the formidable power of the microbial world, and our responsibility as individuals in contributing to global health. Garrett explains how health and disease have a domino effect. What goes around, comes around. This is Buddhist philosophy in practice. Single actions have universal ramifications. For example, Garrett shows how misuse of antibiotics in treating tuberculosis in the former Soviet Union impacts on vulnerability to the disease worldwide. Reading of the losing battle against malaria deeply saddened me when winning the battle seemed to be within grasp. It appears that politics and medicine are joined at the hip. Some years ago Rachel Carson's Silent Spring influenced me. The Coming Plague is similarly inspiring. And perhaps McDonald's on Mars doesn't seem so far away after all.

Good information buried in a bunch liberal crap.
Garrett presents much very interesting information about some of the most deadly diseases in the world, like Machupo and Lassa fever. There are fantastic accounts of how these diseases have been tracked to their sources, or attempted to be tracked to their sources, and how they have been combated thus far. The point is quite well made that these threats are still looming on the horizon and humanity will need to be continually finding more effective ways of control. However, along with all the true accounts and bits of scientific relevance is a running liberal commentary, which is to be expected from somebody with ties to Harvard, I guess. It slows down the narrative with its inevitable logical contradictions, especially when dealing with the AIDS issue and "alternative lifestyles"--homosexuality is shown to be one of the major causes of the spread of AIDS, yet the problem is not homosexuality, but ineffective control measures...hmmmm (and somehow, even things like States' rights get brought in). The book is at times exciting and frightening, but you have to be able to stomach a large dose of liberal hogwash in your diet to be able to choke this one down. Personally, I had trouble with some bad after-taste.

The Coming Plague
Outstanding! This book is an excellent read! I read the Hot Zone 2 years ago and this is even better. Garrett gives fantastic insight and detail concerning many deadly viruses that have attacked humankind in the 20th century and continue to threaten us. Not only this, but she goes on to highlight the feats and bravery of the scientist that have gone to battle with these horrific microbes over the past century. A stunning account of how disease is a part of nature, yet we as humans often aid to its spread. A sobering, eye opening book. As unsettling as it is, some nights it was hard to put down. One of the best books I've ever read. Bravo for Ms. Garrett

there is hope
as scary as this book is . it goes offer hope that someday the human population will drop.
and maybe just maybe the enviroment will again stabilize itself ... Read more

Book Description

The Third Edition of this classic reference is thoroughlyrevised to incorporate the past five years' discoveries on thereplication, molecular biology, pathogenesis, and medical aspects ofviruses. Coverage includes new material on human immunodeficiencyviruses, emerging viruses, prions, papillomaviruses, hepatitis C virus,hantaviruses, herpesviruses, vaccines, and viruses and cancer. Seventy-two chapters comprehensively examine the molecular biology,replication, biology, and clinical significance of all known virusfamilies. New to the Third Edition are chapters on astroviruses; Flaviviridae,including hepatitis C virus and pestivirus; humanherpesvirus 7; hepatitis E virus; and lactate dehydrogenase-elevatingvirus and related viruses. An updated section on general virologyincludes four new chapters on viruses infecting plants; insects; yeast,fungi, and parasites; and bacteria. Illustrations include a new sectionof color plates dealing primarily with the principles of virusstructure. ... Read more

Reviews (2)

A FINE VIROLOGY YARDSTICK
There is hardly any significant fact about viruses that missed-out in this edition of "Fields Virology". Page after page, this sound all-inclusive reference doles out authoritative information on both viruses and viral syndromes. From taxonomy to etiology, metamorphosis to replication; the analyses of this text is grand. The same applies to its attached CD-ROM. Its practical outlook was intended to benefit both microbiologists and pathologists. Bernard Fields and his colleagues made their mark with this book. It is a great effort.
However, most botanist may not be pleased to know that little attention was paid to plant viruses. Again, many potential buyers may be demoralized by the rather high price that this virology-set demands.

Another Bible. Amazing viral world
It covers all fields of virology. Perfect and wonderful ! Easy to understand. I really recommend this book to who is involved in biology ... Read more