Author: James Cross Giblin  Published: 1995

Genres: Diseases, Health, History, Medicine, Non-Fiction

By: Alexandrina Star Rating: 5/5 ☆ ☆ ☆ ☆ ☆ 

Diseases have shaped history, and When Plague Strikes dives deep into three of the most impactful – The Black Death, smallpox and AIDS. With the more modern diseases, most of the information is about the United States of America, but does still include other countries, no-matter how small they are. The book is not overly serious, even if the topic is, and is not a heavy read that makes you worry.

Personally for me I loved the part about AIDS. I have been trying to read every book that the library has about the plague, so I got this book out for that very reason. I was not expecting to be very interested in AIDS, but as soon as I got to that part it enraptured me. There was no scaremongering about how there is still no complete cure for AIDS, and it mentioned both sides of the epidemic. The different perspectives of governments and some marginalised communities was fascinating, although the book was written in a perfectly impartial way. Overall this section surpassed my expectations, and left me impressed.

The only thing that I disliked about the book was how it focused on the USA when mentioning modern day diseases. I would have preferred a bit more coverage on how other places were affected. Some other countries were mentioned, but I would have preferred it if they had been covered in more depth.

Overall, I was extremely impressed with this book as it was a light but informative read, that only provided information, and included no scaremongering. I would recommend this book for people who aren’t queasy. Personally, I wasn’t affected but just be cautious! 😁👍