Product Description
Updated to include the most recent breakthroughsFirst published in 1998, here are the surprisingly fascinating stories of seven diseases that changed the course of human history - updated to reflect new medical and social developments such as: - the ravages of AIDS in Africa, Asia, and other locations - the bioterror threat posed by smallpox eradication- a primitive yet effective new measure for fighting cholera in India- an important new drug to treat malaria- and moreIllustrated with over fifty reproductions of photographs, newspaper cartoons, public health posters, and the like, Invisible Enemies is an intense and intriguing mix of history, biography, and biology.

CUSTOMER REVIEWS (Average Customer Rating: 5.0 based on 9 reviews)

a minor masterpiece by Eric the Read (Seattle, WA)

5 Stars
June 14, 2007
The other reviewers pretty much said it all. Compelling and entertaining. It's as well written as a good detective novel. What is especially interesting is how there could be anyone who would resist the idea of rats, mosquitos or contaminated drinking water having something to do with the spread of disease. How on God's Green Earth did humanity survive, with the population being 99% imbeciles?

Getting it Right by Cecil Fox (Little Rock, AR United States)

5 Stars
March 24, 2005
The author writes well and with grace. The topic of infectious disease is easily misinterpreted by terms such as "the deadly_________" that pervades the cheap popular press, but none of that here. She also writes with accuracy from having read the relevant literature. I do not think this a children's book but rather a chatty and intelligent exploration of the plagues of our times. I would place on the level of Hans Zinsser, Macfarlane Burnet but without the inevitable academic claptrap. Whether she will continue her frank and unembroidered style as she continues in academic medicine is anybodies guess, but if anyone can write a history of AIDS, she can!

Just a Start to What You'll Want to Know About Diseases

5 Stars
May 30, 2002
Some people say that a book has "more than you'll ever want to know" about such and such a thing. Realistically, though, a single volume cannot contain all information on a subject. This book, Invisible Enemies, is not more than you'll ever want to know... it's a start to a whole new search for knowledge. After I read this, I thought I should become an epidemiologist. Though it was classified under the children's section at my local library, I was intrigued by both the cover, the description, and the title. I checked it out and read it; it contains summaries, drawings, history, stories, and explanations of many highly infectious diseases that have plagued man throughout history--six or seven, I believe. Included are: tuberculosis, leprosy, cholera, bubonic plague, AIDS, smallpox, and malaria. Before I read this, the basis of my knowledge of smallpox was that it is mostly gone, with the exception of a few lab samples around the world. Now I know how the vaccination was developed, as well as its spread and symptoms. If diseases are something even slightly interesting to you, this is the book I would begin with.

Awesome by Julie (Addison, IL USA)

5 Stars
September 30, 2001
I picked up this book looking at the cover trying to figure out his picture. I then looked at the titleee and it clicked. I read this for school and it wasn't hard to finish it because it amazed me with what everything really was. Usually I read fiction books that have diseases or disorders in them. I figured that there should be some explaination for me. It wasnt hard to follow. Also everything was explained very well. I didn't have any real background other than the fictions books that you really couldn't go by.

A great book

5 Stars
May 04, 2000
Invisible Enemies is a book that will educate you about 7 diseases that helped shaped history, will make you respect the power of the tiny organisms we live with, and will not let you forget the most important part of any epidemic - the people. As a graduate student in the sciences, I was satisfied with the details about the diseases and fascinated by the details about the people.

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