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Books Related to The Ghost Map Steven Johnson - ISBN: 1400152984
The Ghost Map - Rated
Interesting book although somewhat lacking in depth. It does give the reader a sense of London's public health history and changes that were initiated as a result of the 19th century cholera epidemic. The descriptions of life in London during that time, the population density of the city and the poor sanitation (or lack of sanitation) are thought provoking and I found those to be the most interesting part of the book. Many people of the time (as well as scientists) thought that diseases were spread by smell and went through pains to try and cover up the bad odors. There is a detective nature to the book as the means by which the spread of cholera are investigated, and a specific outbreak is linked to a water pump. This is an easily readable book and is recommended for those who want to know something about cholera and its impact on public health.
The Ghost Map - Rated
I loved this book. It is very informative and at the same very readable. As a reader who usually reads fiction, I found this a 'step up' and felt that I learnt a lot about Victorian London, the jobs the people did, the way they lived and what there lives were about. the characters come to life and you live there lives. I will definitely be reading more books on this subject - but feel I have been spoilt reading this first. I would definitely recommend.
Cholora and my Family - Rated
This book combines a detective story with a slice of Victorian social history. Outbreaks of cholora were not infrequent in 19th. cent. London but Steven Johnson is concerned with one particular case in Soho in 1854, centered round the pump in Broad Street. In an England bustling with the great inventions of the Industrial Revolutions the ever present danger of vast quantities of crap - in the streets and the water - appears to have been overlooked. The awful smells convinced everyone that epidemics were spread by air but two people contested this assumption. I found this book strangely un-putdownable, possibly because I lost four members of my own family to cholora in the same year, in Whitechapel, London, but also because you want to know what happens next. You also learn a fat slice of our recent history.
History with a twist - Rated
Johnson's book reads as a detective story, with the two heroes seeking to find how Cholera is spread and how to stop an epidemic. However, he also "parks" on other interrealated themes of how "ideas" spread, some of the implications for city life, our lives in the "city planet" we now inhabit and the way we will live in the future. Great read. Fascinating history. Great use of various interrelated disciplines from someone who is passionate about life in the city, science, breakthroughs in ideas and history.
