Book Log 2008 #52: The Ghost Map by Steven Johnson

This book tells the story of the 1854 cholera outbreak in London that, in many ways, was the event that gave birth to modern public health thanks to the work of John Snow and Henry Whitehead, a doctor and minister who worked in parallel (and together in some instances) to uncover just how it occurred and how to stop it. Their work ran counter to the scientific and class-based beliefs of the time, and would eventually help topple them, but only eventually.

Johnson does an admirable job of setting the scene, both in how the urban environment of London was ripe for outbreak and how cholera itself works. He spends a fair amount of the book trying to get beyond the written accounts and history of the outbreak and into the personal and emotional impacts, which works to some extent, though I'd have liked just a bit more of the history. He also looks to bring the lessons forward into the present day, which I think work less well.

If nothing else, I was able to get through the entire book, an improvement from the last time I tackled a book by Johnson. It's pretty good, certainly worth a look.