Best Communicable Diseases

The Hot Zone tells this dramatic story, giving a hair-raising account of the appearance of rare and lethal viruses and their "crashes" into the human race. Preston's account of an outbreak of a strain of the Ebola virus among monkeys in a Virginia laboratory has spent more than 30 weeks on PW's bestseller list.

The history of that transformation involves famine, poverty, filth, lost cures, eugenicist doctrine, individual freedoms versus state might, protests and arrests over vaccine refusal, and much more.

The Fate of Rome is the first book to examine the catastrophic role that climate change and infectious diseases played in the collapse of Rome’s power―a story of nature’s triumph over human ambition. In the empire's heyday, in 160 CE, splendid cities, linked by famous roads and bustling harbors, stand waiting for the lethal pathogens of Central Africa and the highlands of Tibet. Yet, under the flickering light of a variable sun, beneath skies alternately veiled in volcanic dust or cruelly rainless, this remarkable agglomeration of human beings held firm. Harper's compelling and cautionary tale documents the deadly plagues, fevers, and other pestilences that ravaged the population time and again, resulting in far more deaths than ever caused by enemy forces. "Kyle Harper's extraordinary new account of the fall of Rome is a gripping and terrifying story of the interaction between human behavior and systems, pathogens and climate change. The Roman Empire was a remarkable connector of people and things--in towns and cities, through voluntary and enforced migration, and through networks of trade across oceans and continents--but this very connectedness fostered infectious diseases that debilitated its population.

The Hot Zone tells this dramatic story, giving a hair-raising account of the appearance of rare and lethal viruses and their "crashes" into the human race. The dramatic and chilling story of an Ebola virus outbreak in a surburban Washington, D.C. laboratory, with descriptions of frightening historical epidemics of rare and lethal viruses.

The Hot Zone tells this dramatic story, giving a hair-raising account of the appearance of rare and lethal viruses and their "crashes" into the human race. Preston's account of an outbreak of a strain of the Ebola virus among monkeys in a Virginia laboratory has spent more than 30 weeks on PW's bestseller list.

THE #1 NEW YORK TIMES BESTSELLER. A New York Times Notable Book. A Washington Post and Seattle Times Best Book of the Year From the Pulitzer Prize-winning, bestselling author of The Emperor of All Maladies —a magnificent history of the gene and a response to the defining question of the future: What becomes of being human when we learn to “read” and “write” our own genetic information? "This is perhaps the greatest detective story ever told—a millennia-long search, led by a thousand explorers, from Aristotle to Mendel to Francis Collins, for the question marks at the center of every living cell. “Sobering, humbling, and extraordinarily rich reading from a wise and gifted writer who sees how far we have come—but how much farther far we have to go to understand our human nature and destiny.” ( Kirkus, starred review ). "Mukherjee deftly relates the basic scientific facts about the way genes are believed to function, while making clear the aspects of genetics that remain unknown. He offers insight into both the scientific process and the sociology of science... By relating familial information, Mukherjee grounds the abstract in the personal to add power and poignancy to his excellent narrative." Mukherjee punctuates his encyclopedic investigations of collective and individual heritability, and our closing in on the genetic technologies that will transform how we will shape our own genome, with evocative personal anecdotes, deft literary allusions, wonderfully apt metaphors, and an irrepressible intellectual brio.” ( Ben Dickinson, Elle ). The story [of the gene] has been told, piecemeal, in different ways, but never before with the scope and grandeur that Siddhartha Mukherjee brings to his new history… he views his subject panoptically, from a great and clarifying height, yet also intimately.” ( James Gleick, New York Times Book Review ).

RETURNING TO TELEVISION AS AN ALL-NEW MINISERIES ON FOX Cosmos is one of the bestselling science books of all time. Featuring a new Introduction by Sagan’s collaborator, Ann Druyan, full color illustrations, and a new Foreword by astrophysicist Neil deGrasse Tyson, Cosmos retraces the fourteen billion years of cosmic evolution that have transformed matter into consciousness, exploring such topics as the origin of life, the human brain, Egyptian hieroglyphics, spacecraft missions, the death of the Sun, the evolution of galaxies, and the forces and individuals who helped to shape modern science. With a lyrical literary style, and a range that touches almost all aspects of human knowledge, Cosmos often seems too good to be true.” — The Plain Dealer “Sagan is an astronomer with one eye on the stars, another on history, and a third—his mind’s—on the human condition.” — Newsday “Brilliant in its scope and provocative in its suggestions . He played a leading role in the Mariner, Viking, Voyager, and Galileo spacecraft expeditions, for which he received the NASA Medals for Exceptional Scientific Achievement and (twice) for Distinguished Public Service.

Praised for its exceptionally clear presentation of complex topics, this #1-selling text for microbiology non-majors provides a careful balance of concepts and applications, proven art that teaches and the most robust, dynamic media in MasteringMicrobiology. The Twelfth Edition ofTortora, Funke, and Case’s Microbiology: An Introduction focuses on big picture concepts and themes in microbiology, encouraging students to visualize and synthesize tough topics such as microbial metabolism, immunology, and microbial genetics. He belongs to numerous biology/microbiology organizations, including the American Society of Microbiology (ASM), Human Anatomy and Physiology Society (HAPS), American Association for the Advancement of Science (AAAS), National Education Association (NEA), New Jersey Educational Association (NJEA), and the Metropolitan Association of College and University Biologists (MACUB). He has spent his professional years as a professor of microbiology at North Dakota State University. He taught introductory microbiology, including laboratory sections, general microbiology, food microbiology, soil microbiology, clinical parasitology, and pathogenic microbiology. As a research scientist in the Experiment Station at North Dakota State, he has published numerous papers on soil microbiology and food microbiology.

John E. Bennett and Raphael Dolin along with new editorial team member Dr. Martin Blaser have meticulously updated this latest edition to save you time and to ensure you have the latest clinical and scientific knowledge at your fingertips. Put the latest knowledge to work in your practice with new or completely revised chapters on influenza (new pandemic strains); new Middle East respiratory syndrome (MERS) virus; probiotics; antibiotics for resistant bacteria; antifungal drugs; new antivirals for hepatitis B and C; Clostridium difficile treatment; sepsis; advances in HIV prevention and treatment; viral gastroenteritis; Lyme disease; Helicobacter pylori; malaria; infections in immunocompromised hosts; immunization (new vaccines and new recommendations); and microbiome. "This is what an in depth textbook should be, a superb and vast, yet highly readable review of its topic... without doubt this will appeal to a global audience whose primary interest is the clinical aspects of infectious diseases."

“Engrossing … [An] expedition through the hidden and sometimes horrifying microbial domain.” — Wall Street Journal “Fascinating—and full of the kind of factoids you can't wait to share.” — Scientific American Parasites can live only inside another animal and, as Kathleen McAuliffe reveals, these tiny organisms have many evolutionary motives for manipulating the behavior of their hosts. The horror and revulsion we are programmed to feel when we come in contact with people who appear diseased or dirty helped pave the way for civilization, but may also be the basis for major divisions in societies that persist to this day. "- BookForum “A fascinating account of an extraordinary suite of biological phenomena, only recently come to light and proving that given enough time and enough evolving species to work with, natural selection can accomplish almost anything.”. - Edward O. Wilson , Professor Emeritus, Harvard University, author of Consilience . In company with the best science writers, she shows us that reality can be way more interesting than fiction.”. - Valerie Curtis , Director of the Environmental Health Group of the London School of Hygiene & Tropical Medicine and author of Don’t Look, Don’t Touch, Don’t Eat “Be prepared to throw away all your preconceptions about the order of life.