Volume 54, Number 11 · June 28, 2007
Death by the Numbers
By Helen Epstein
The Ghost Map: The Story of London's Most Terrifying Epidemic—and How It Changed Science, Cities, and the Modern World
by Steven Johnson
Riverhead, 299 pp., $26.95
During the nineteenth century, Britain was struck by four epidemics of cholera, an often fatal disease characterized by attacks of diarrhea so intense that the body may lose gallons of water in just a few hours. The horrifying symptoms—dehydration so severe that the flesh shrinks back against the skull and the blood turns to jelly—appeared suddenly, and death could follow in the same day. It felt 'like being hit with a club,' reported one survivor.[1]
Review, 3676 words
To read the full text of this piece, please choose one of the following options:
|
If you are already a subscriber to the Review's electronic edition, please sign in: |
To subscribe to the electronic edition, please press the button below. |
To purchase access to this article for $3, please press the button below. |