Malaria is an infectious disease like no other: it is a dynamic force of nature and Africa’s most deadly and debilitating malady. James C. McCann tells the story of malaria in human, narrative terms and explains the history and ecology of the disease through the science of landscape change. All malaria is local.
James C. McCann is a professor of history and chair of the Department of Archaeology at Boston University. He is winner of a John S. Guggenheim Fellowship and the 2014 Distinguished Scholar of the American Society of Environmental History.
“This is one of the most important books written on Africa in the
last ten years—indeed, in any ten years. If this book does not win
a prize, then there is truly no justice.…A superb topic, handled
here by an accomplished historian at the peak of his powers…The
epilogue is simply magnificent. Sparse, almost curt, it makes the
case with blinding clarity…The past lives with us. The future is
about adaptability, not progress.”
“McCann’s work is truly a must-read for experts in many fields,
from public health, agriculture, and history, to politics and
development. This book is a brilliant demonstration of the deeply
local and highly adaptable nature of disease and mortality, and the
ways in which the historical ecology of disease effects household
decision-making and trends in food production and economic
development on a national scale.”
*Focus on the Horn*
“This thorough country history … explores malaria’s etiology,
effects, and the challenges of minimizing, if not controlling, its
impact. Historian McCann draws on decades of Ethiopian field
experience and familiarity with its historical sources. …
Fascinating anecdotes reveal local disease understandings, often
blaming malign spirits (hence the subtitle). …Malaria severely
challenges public health, but this study will aid the struggle.
Summing Up: Recommended.”
*CHOICE*
“Amid renewed calls for global malaria eradication, historian James
C. McCann delivers a timely reminder of the complexity and
resilience of malaria. His argument concerns interdisciplinarity,
humility and scale. … McCann’s unique accomplishment is the
incorporation of a sophisticated and complex biomedical hypothesis
of modern malaria epidemiology into a nuanced historical and
cultural narrative. … It will be useful for students of public
health and its history.”
*Social History of Medicine*
“McCann writes history with an ethnographic sensibility and a solid
grasp of the science. His delightful turn of phrase and accessible
writing style make this work an enjoyable read for specialists and
non-specialists alike. … [He] eloquently describes the social,
economic and political disturbances central to malaria’s success,
beautifully explains the distinctiveness of this infectious
disease, and sensitively links science with illness narratives.
…Readers will be left not just knowing more about Ethiopia and
malaria, but with an analytical framework with which to enquire
about malaria in other locations as well.”
*Human Ecology*
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