[A] gripping premise ... Kennedy re-excavates the past, one in which we are much less significant than we think ... Kennedy, a sociologist, catapults the reader around the world ... Kennedy, for his part, wrangles an astonishing breadth of material into easily accessible, plain prose. He challenges us to think big and long about the enduring impacts of infectious-disease outbreaks ... The book gathers fiery momentum as it goes, especially from colonial plagues on ... Even readers familiar with the material will find fascinating how Kennedy arrived at some of these revelations ... Occasionally, the book overreaches ... Despite Kennedy’s seemingly demoralizing thesis, his narrative tilts toward hope and empowerment.
Three years after the outbreak of a devastating infectious disease with a staggering death toll, spending time with a book that vividly details the microbial richness of human history might not rank high on most people’s must-do lists. But those with enough of an epidemiological appetite to pick up Kennedy’s new book will be gratifyingly—if not necessarily cheerfully—rewarded with the knowledge that their read was at least well timed ... Kennedy’s book isn’t meant as revisionism; the broad strokes of history remain intact. But it gently sidelines humans—and, in doing so, humbles them ... ennedy’s book manages to end on a somewhat hopeful note. Yes, our trajectory is defined by microbes. But it’s also influenced by our reactions to them—and our acknowledgment of their power. This current pandemic may be tilting toward a slow end. As much as we may want the crisis to disappear in the rearview, the coda of one outbreak is an ideal time to prepare for the next, inevitably on its way.
His quick history of the world from the Paleolithic to the present day offers a different lens to view many of the big events of the past. Some of Kennedy’s conclusions are mere speculation ... Most of his observations are bolstered by more historical research and are more convincing.
Fascinating ... The book thus performs that satisfying trick of encouraging the reader to think differently about familiar topics, though its ideas are inevitably variable in their persuasiveness ... The author seems to approve considerably more of capitalism with Chinese characteristics, celebrating the undoubted improvement in living standards of many millions of people in China over the last few decades. He is also curiously happy to accept the official Chinese figures on Covid death rates in order to argue that the US and 'liberal democracy' in general are not obviously superior systems ... Kennedy is convincing, though.
Pathogenesis is superbly written. Kennedy seamlessly weaves together scientific and historical research ... In any bold retelling of history viewed through a single lens, there is a danger of being blinded by one’s theory. This is common to the smart thinking genre: if a writer’s big idea is the peg, you’ll be astonished to discover how every world issue suddenly matches the same shaped hole. Kennedy doesn’t suffer this tunnel vision, although he does sometimes downplay the many factors — including chance — that might be at play in the events he describes.
Pathogenesis suggests that the course of history has less to do with our own volition and more to do with the ways in which different diseases fared in different climates ... At times, the thesis seems stretched a little thin ... But this quibble doesn’t detract from the main idea that drives Pathogenesis.
Kennedy explains the complex interplay of humans, germs and animals, and the consequences of those interactions ... Makes a convincing case that germs did help mold history—and that history in turn affected how germs evolved and traveled around the globe with ferocious efficacy. Kennedy’s final chapters are cautionary but not pessimistic. What has happened in the past can happen again—but not necessarily in the same way. With this knowledge, perhaps we can be better armed when, not if, the next plague emerges.
Kennedy’s book is in some ways redundant, but it is well grounded scientifically and draws on recent literature ... Nuanced ... Of interest to students of world history, with lessons to ponder for our own pandemic-hobbled time.
A virtuoso analysis of the fallout from encounters between deadly viral and bacterial pathogens and human populations that lacked immunity ... Though there’s a one-size-fits-all aspect to Kennedy’s thesis that disease-bearing microbes are responsible for the modern world, he marshals a wealth of surprising scholarship in lucid and succinct prose. The result is a fascinating look at history from the perspective of its tiniest protagonists.
