Plagues

School Library Journal

Gr 6-10-Diseases, pestilence, swarms of insects and animals, bioinvasion, and blights are covered in this title. Human beliefs about these disasters and the various efforts made throughout history to ward them off or defeat them create a view of an endless struggle between humanity and nature. Numerous black-and-white reproductions and halftone photographs make the subjects real. Additional information appears in boxed sidebars detailing specific episodes in dealings with various plagues. In a work of this size, it's impossible to explore every aspect of all types of plagues or to list every possible cause. While many ways that humans contribute to bioinvasion and blights are presented, the fact that some of the diseases discussed may have existed for a long time and it is only humankind's exposure that is recent is not mentioned. Instead, diseases like AIDS and Ebola hemorrhagic fever are discussed as "new" diseases rather than new to man. James Cross Giblin's When Plague Strikes (HarperCollins, 1995), Linda Jacobs Altman's Plague and Pestilence (Enslow, 1998), and Jane Walker's Famine, Drought and Plagues (Gloucester, 1992; o.p.) describe only human diseases and their causes. Hirschmann provides a general overview of the much broader variety of biological problems that have plagued humankind throughout history.-Ann G. Brouse, Steele Memorial Library, Elmira, NY Copyright 2001 Cahners Business Information.