Fascinating read, and an absolute must for anyone interested in the Ebola outbreak in Liberia.
343138
Gripping story.  Could not put the book down, read it all in one go.  The hero who wrote this, Dr. Appel, gives keen insight into the logistical nightmare that haunts the medical community in Liberia, as well as cultural factors negatively impacting the ability to deliver effective healthcare.

In spite of the myriad problems, Dr. Appel saved lives every day, bravely facing the risk of contracting Ebola all the while.

We owe so much to doctors like this author, who willingly put their lives on the line to care for others, in the spirit of Christ.

Especially of note are the suggestions given at the end explaining what actions would lead to successfully containing the epidemic.

Readers of this book may also be interested in an older book, written by Laurie Garrett, "The Coming Plague..."
4710967
Concise account of the 1995 Ebola outbreak.  While well-written and informative, I was disappointed that it was solely about the '95 outbreak and did not explain the 2014 outbreak (which was my fault for not fully reading the description).  Garrett, as she was in her outstanding The Coming Plague, synthesizes medical explanations with the political landscape and a large amount of human interest details.
1202043
The book was very informative and I could not put it down.  I bought the kindle edition and there are links available to video and news article  I like the Kindle edition as I could start reading right away and didn't have to wait for it to be shipped.  The format and index were well done. I can't recommend this book enough to anyone that is interested in the "the hoax of black victimization and those who enable it".  Mr. Flaherty is the lone voice warning us and I believe saving lives.  The book documents case after case with footnotes and links to do further study.  I plan on purchasing Mr. Flaherty's other works.  Thank you Mr. Flaherty for your fine work and I hope you have great success!
Veronica-Marie
4289749
Plagues and Peoples is an informative and very readable summary of the relationship between mankind and disease.  The author consistently views disease as a parasite and describes the history of plagues in terms of a parasite interacting with a host population.  The parasite and the host interact and, over time, reach an equilibrium within the population that allows the both the parasite and the host to survive.
The most interesting feature of the book is his portrayal of mankind not only as a host, but also as a parasite himself.  He uses the term macroparasite to describe human institutions and phenomena that also drain energy and resources from producers.  For example, very high taxes or rents, Medieval labor laws and practices, war, and forced migration all drain communities and nations as surely as disease.  He provides excellent, while still brief, commentary on the interaction between microparasites and macroparasites and the resultant depopulation of certain areas during certain periods.  One might argue that this is not a newly observed correlation, but it has certainly never been explained as clearly and succintly as it is done here.
McNeill covers a range of topics.  There is, of course, discussion of the plague and mankinds response to it.  There us also commentary on leprosy.  Why for example, was leprosy, so common in Western Europe and the Middle East in biblical times, to dissapear in the Middle Ages.  ( The answer is not what you think. )  Did syphillis originate in the Americas ?  If so it may have been the Aztecs' revenge on the conquistadors.  Why are there childhood diseases ?
McNeill's arguements are somtimes intuitive and are, in some cases, based on limited data, especially when he examines the history of disease in Asia and India.  However, he is careful to couch his observations in limited terms and clearly points out the limitations of the data.  I found this to be a refreshing break from, for example, Guns, Germs and Steel, where the author used very limited data to draw absolute conclusions.
The new introduction ( the book was first publised in 1986 )has an alternate viewpoint on AIDS.  He argues that, at the moment, AIDS as an epidemic does not rank among the great killers of mankind such as the plague.  He draws some interesting parallels between the current AIDS epidemic and the historical spread of syphillis.  I am not sure if I agree with his position, but it was interesting to hear something other than the usual end of the world scenario that often comes out of discussions of AIDS.
3697882
I really enjoyed this book. Read it during the ebola outbreak and found it an interesting subject  to think about. The author gives the characters and the setting great detail. I think the whole subject of plague and medicine at the time is fascinating. The book gives us an insight into a village coping with the sickness, superstition and relationships.
894795
Africa, how did it get that way, and who's fault is it?

Guest puts his gift for prose and analysis on full display in this fascinating page turner.  He avoids the pitfall that so often engulfs writers who take on the subject of Africa, in blaming the West for the horrors that pass for everyday occurrences on the "Dark Continent".  In fact, Guest probably is guilty of going too far the other way and assigning almost total blame on the Africans themselves.

Truth be told, his perception is more accurate than the opposite school, and as ubiquitous as that pandering thought is, this is a breath of fresh air.

Imminently readable and evidence of decades of travel all over sub-Saharan Africa, this is a must read for anyone interested in analyzing the most horrific examples of human endeavor (Africa).
2880116
An amazing and informative true story of struggle and survival told in a way that touches every reader's experience.  The reader also gains a comprehensive lesson about Liberia's history and development--her rise and her fall. It's a compelling read.
1586735
I literally could not put this book down and read it in one sitting on a Sunday. This is one compelling story that is well-written, engaging to say the least, quite informative, and dare I say entertaining despite the horrific story line.

One of the things that makes this such a great read is that there are parallel stories - the author's personal story (that's the horrific can't-put-the-book-down aspect) and every other chapter is the very interesting history of meth.

This book is a must-read. Seriously, you should get and read this book and get some as gifts too because it will open up people's eyes to the sinister pervasiveness of the meth epidemic, and you'll undoubtedly start to see evidence around you of meth you didn't see before, and you seriously need to see. It's almost as if this book should be required reading in school.
1203168
I stumbled upon this book in the wake of the American ebola scare of last year. I think it's a good working history of the disease and its effects. I live near three major port cities and in an area of a lot of immigrants, many illegal. This book should be a wake up call as to what enters our borders unknown. It scared me.
1169867
pretty scary to think this happened years ago and the public never knew a thing...the book was written well and kept you interested.  It was not written in a way that was too scientific and hard to understand.  I enjoyed the book very much and would recommend it to anyone interested in learning about Ebola.
3598688
Nancy Sheppard writes this account of the 2014 Ebola epidemic in Liberia from her own unique insider's perspective of 28 years of missionary experience in Liberia and a much more recent, albeit brief, experience as a volunteer in Liberia's first dedicated Ebola unit. She somehow manages, within the one volume, not only to convey her deep empathy for the Ebola victims and families and her own emotional turmoil as her co-workers contracted the virus, but also to take a step back and offer clear-headed insights as to why Liberia's spiritual, cultural, and physical environment helped this particular outbreak of Ebola to spread so dramatically. As a life-long reader, I found Nancy's story riveting and her powers of description masterful. As a nurse, I was intrigued by the details she shared of her experience on the Ebola ward. As a Christian missionary, I was challenged by Nancy's love for her God and her willingness to trust Him in the middle of such a foundation-shaking experience.
3546197
What a riveting book! Especially in light of the recent Ebola crisis, this would probably scare the heck out of a lot of readers!  Well written and informative.
4800355
This book was thoroughly enjoyable, although at times it was scary and gory. However, i really loved reading it and learning how the Marburg and Ebola viruses affected people without reading a boring textbook. I'm sure you would enjoy it as much as i did.
2740636
I am a huge fan of books about fighting disease, so this was a great book. Plus, it is more than a micro-history of plague at the turn of the century in San Francisco. It also includes a brief history of the evolution of our understanding of the plague (and some huge discoveries about the disease occurred in the ~8 years that this book covers), a history of San Francisco, a history of Chinese immigration into the area (and the resulting xenophobia), a history of public health and how it evolved, a brief discussion of the 1906 earthquake, an expos of government corruption, etc, etc. It was fascinating and interesting.

I am giving it five stars because the subject matter was interesting, and the book was very readable (and not too technical in nature - sometimes books about disease can get bogged down in technical detail). If you like reading books about the history of disease, you will definitely like this one. If you are coming to this book hoping for it to be like "The Hot Zone" by Richard Preston (about ebola), you will find that the pace is not quite as brisk. Plague is a terrible disease, and its eruption in San Francisco in 1900 was definitely considered an epidemic, but since it is spread by rat fleas and not as easily by person-to-person contact (though some forms of the disease are highly contagious), some of the edge-of-your-seat fear is not present the same way it is in a book about, say, ebola or smallpox. But I still loved the book and would recommend it to other armchair medical enthusiasts or history buffs.
2524414
Ebola K: A Terrorism Thriller  by Bobby Adair is a really riveting  book.  With the current outbreaks of ebola in Africa, this book really hits close to home.  With all the misconception  regarding ebola, this book's plot is entirely believable.  The use of this virus as a terrorism weapon, as described by the author, is frighteningly simple.  This book is fast paced, and hard to put down.
3600065
This book quickly became one of those books I carried with me to read at every opportunity. Dr. Wenzel has spun a fascinating web of medical science drama, history, and the modern fear of terrorism.  After an attention grabbing start, I was led on an adventure and discovered I was also learning about the amazing (and a bit scary) world of infectious disease.  As a non-medical person, I found the science was understandable and made the story much more exciting.  The main characters in the book stuck with me when I was done reading.  Their individual stories were wrapped up with a few loose strings.  I'm hoping to follow up on these "strings" to continue with these characters on further adventures. This was an exciting, "can't-put-down" book that has left me excited for future novels.
2858818
This extraordinary book is far more than than a possible explanation for the origins of HIV. It is a fascinating study in the history of medical epidemiology not to mention the inevitability of human error. Whether or  not you agree with the author's conclusions, his painstaking research and  the twists and turns he encounters will keep your eyes glued to every one  of the book's 1070 pages. (And that includes the Index!)