Synopses & Reviews
A century ago, the third bubonic plague swept the globe, taking more than 15 million lives.
Plague Ports tells the story of ten cities on five continents that were ravaged by the epidemic in its initial years: Hong Kong and Bombay, the Asian emporiums of the British Empire where the epidemic first surfaced; Sydney, Honolulu and San Francisco, three “pearls” of the Pacific; Buenos Aires and Rio de Janeiro in South America; Alexandria and Cape Town in Africa; and Oporto in Europe.
Myron Echenberg examines plague's impact in each of these cities, on the politicians, the medical and public health authorities, and especially on the citizenry, many of whom were recent migrants crammed into grim living spaces. He looks at how different cultures sought to cope with the challenge of deadly epidemic disease, and explains the political, racial, and medical ineptitudes and ignorance that allowed the plague to flourish. The forces of globalization and industrialization, Echenberg argues, had so increased the transmission of microorganisms that infectious disease pandemics were likely, if not inevitable.
This fascinating, expansive history, enlivened by harrowing photographs and maps of each city, sheds light on urbanism and modernity at the turn of the century, as well as on glaring public health inequalities. With the recent outbreaks of SARS and avian flu, and ongoing fears of bioterrorism, Plague Ports offers a necessary and timely historical lesson.
Review
"Both of the authors bring great depth of knowledge in the history of political thought to the writing of this book."-Rex Martin,author of A System of Rights
Review
"Illustrates the authors' obvious knowledge of a wide range of political thought, from the ancient to the contemporary."-Iain Mackenzie,author of Political Ideologies
Review
"He (Echenberg) has produced a magistral, richly detailed account of bubonic plague's fin de cicle effects, and the sometimes less-than-sincere or thwarted efforts by public authorities to contain it."-James Reveley,International Journal of Martitime History
Review
“Echenbergs richly textured and deeply discerning account of the last plague pandemic is, as he points out, a cautionary tale of the politics of disease control in a globalized world. It should become compulsory reading for all who are engaged in the construction of the new discipline of global public health.”
-New England Journal of Medicine,
Review
“Provides an in-depth look at the ineffectiveness of certain public health disease control measures such as quarantine, isolation of patient contacts, and the importance of using knowledge of the pathogen's disease ecology for the development and implementation of effective control measures.”
-International Journal of African Historical Studies,
Review
“Well written and fluent in narrating its stories, this work can provide good reading not only for historians and students specializing in medicine, but for a wider public as well.”
-Journal of World History,
Review
“Plague Ports highlights how international trade had connected ports in different continents by the end of the nineteenth century, with the potential to transform local epidemics into global pandemics.”
-Journal of African History,
Synopsis
An Introduction to Political Thought emphasizes a dual approach to political theory by providing a chronological overview of both major figures and texts as well as an understanding of the development of key concepts and themes. In this way the authors provide a basic sense of the history and development of political thought and a critical grasp of the theoretical and philosophical issues at the heart of politics.
Beginning with the idea that laws and constitutions are only beneficial insofar as they give effective expression to our moral and political beliefs, the authors argue that moral and political ideas are the foundations of politics. Political philosophers covered in depth include: Plato, Aristotle, Hobbes, Locke, Rousseau, Marx, Bentham, Rawls, and Burke. Key concepts such as the moral order, liberty, human nature, freedom, the social contract, distributive justice, liberalism, socialism, feminism, human rights, and multiculturalism are also all covered. In exploring these issues the authors offer a critical guide through key arguments in the history of political thought and contemporary political theory.
About the Author
Myron Echenberg is professor of history at McGill University. He is the author of Black Death, White Medicine: Bubonic Plague and the Politics of Public Health in Colonial Senegal, 1914-1945 and Colonial Conscripts: The Tirailleurs Sénégalais in French West Africa, 1857-1960.