{"product_id":"a-history-of-the-world-in-six-plagues-how-contagion-class-and-captivity-shaped-us-from-cholera-to-covid-20","title":"A History of the World in Six Plagues: How Contagion, Class, and Captivity Shaped Us, from Cholera to Covid-19","description":"\u003cp\u003eby Edna Bonhomme\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eAtria\/One Signal Publishers\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e3\/10\/2026, paperback\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eSKU: 9781982197841\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e \u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e\u003cb\u003eA deeply reported, insightful, and literary account of humankind's battles with epidemic disease, and their outsized role in deepening inequality along racial, ethnic, class, and gender lines--in the vein of\u003cspan\u003e \u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/b\u003e\u003cb\u003e\u003ci\u003eMedical Apartheid\u003cspan\u003e \u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/i\u003eand\u003cspan\u003e \u003c\/span\u003e\u003ci\u003eKilling the Black Body\u003c\/i\u003e.\u003c\/b\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e\u003cspan\u003eEpidemic diseases enter the world by chance, but they become catastrophic by human design.\u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e\u003cspan\u003eWith clear-eyed research and lush prose, \u003c\/span\u003e\u003ci\u003eA History of the World in Six Plagues\u003c\/i\u003e\u003cspan\u003e shows that throughout history, outbreaks of disease have been exacerbated by and gone on to further expand the racial, economic, and sociopolitical divides we allow to fester in times of good health.\u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e\u003cspan\u003ePrinceton-trained historian Edna Bonhomme's examination of humanity's disastrous treatment of pandemic disease takes us across place and time from Port-au-Prince to Tanzania, and from plantation-era America to our modern COVID-19-scarred world to unravel shocking truths about the patterns of discrimination in the face of disease. Based on in-depth research and cultural analysis, Bonhomme explores Cholera, HIV\/AIDS, the Spanish Flu, Sleeping Sickness, Ebola, and COVID-19 amidst the backdrop of unequal public policy. But much more than a remarkable history, \u003c\/span\u003e\u003ci\u003eA History of the World in Six Plagues\u003c\/i\u003e\u003cspan\u003e \u003c\/span\u003e\u003ci\u003e\u003c\/i\u003e\u003cspan\u003eis also a rising call for change.\u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e\u003cstrong\u003eReviews:\u003c\/strong\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e\"Pandemics thrive on inequities and widen them, providing more kindling for future plagues. This simple lesson has proven devastatingly difficult to learn. But I think that if everyone read Edna Bonhomme's incredible, humane, insightful book--and I hope they do--we might stand a chance of actually breaking the cycle of neglect and panic.\" -- Ed Yong, Pulitzer Prize-winning author of the New York Times bestsellers \u003ci\u003eI Contain Multitudes\u003c\/i\u003e and \u003ca href=\"https:\/\/burningbooks.com\/products\/an-immense-world-how-animal-senses-reveal-the-hidden-realms-around-us?variant=44372221690139\" title=\"An Immense World\"\u003e\u003ci\u003eAn Immense World\u003c\/i\u003e\u003c\/a\u003e\u003cstrong\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003c\/strong\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e\u003cmeta charset=\"utf-8\"\u003e\u003cspan\u003e\"This meticulously researched book shows us the ways that contagious illness frustrates humankind's instinct for control, and how people have found ways to care for one another in the worst of circumstances. A powerful book that shines a light on the parts of life we'd rather ignore, and the beauty that can arise from horror.\" \u003c\/span\u003e-- Sarah Jaffe, author of \u003ca href=\"https:\/\/burningbooks.com\/products\/from-the-ashes-grief-and-revolution-in-a-world-on-fire\" title=\"From the Ashes\"\u003e\u003ci\u003eFrom the Ashes: Grief and Revolution\u003c\/i\u003e\u003c\/a\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e\u003cstrong\u003eAbout the Author:\u003c\/strong\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e\u003cstrong\u003e\u003cspan\u003eEdna Bonhomme \u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/strong\u003eis a historian of science, culture writer, and book critic whose work has appeared in Al Jazeera, \u003ci\u003eThe Atlantic\u003c\/i\u003e, \u003ci\u003eEsquire, Frieze \u003c\/i\u003emagazine, \u003ci\u003eThe Guardian\u003c\/i\u003e, \u003ci\u003eThe Nation\u003c\/i\u003e, \u003ci\u003eLondon Review of Books\u003c\/i\u003e, \u003ci\u003eThe\u003c\/i\u003e \u003ci\u003eWashington Post\u003c\/i\u003e, and more. She is coeditor of \u003ci\u003eAfter Sex\u003c\/i\u003e, a collection of essays, poems, and short stories. She earned a PhD from Princeton University, a master's degree from Columbia University, and a bachelor's degree from Reed College. She previously held fellowships at the Max Planck Institute for the History of Science, the Ludwig Maximilian University of Munich, the Camargo Foundation, Baldwin for the Arts, and Nancy B. Negley Artists Residency Program at Maison Dora Maar. Edna is a recipient of the Robert Silvers Foundation Grant for Works in Progress and the Andy Warhol Foundation Arts Grant.\u003cstrong\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003c\/strong\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e","brand":"Burning Books","offers":[{"title":"Default Title","offer_id":52029152100635,"sku":"History of the World in Six PB","price":20.0,"currency_code":"USD","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0466\/5121\/files\/91KUtA6xH5L._SL1500.jpg?v=1745102507","url":"https:\/\/burningbooks.com\/products\/a-history-of-the-world-in-six-plagues-how-contagion-class-and-captivity-shaped-us-from-cholera-to-covid-20","provider":"Burning Books","version":"1.0","type":"link"}