Fionnáin reviewed Rats, Lice and History by Hans Zinsser
Fascinating as a project, frustrating as a rant
3 stars
This 1934 book is a history of typhus presented as popular science (and apparently as a biography, although it doesn't really follow any such form).
The first four chapters are pretty much unreadable. One Stanford University scientist in the 1930s grinds an axe about many different scientists and writers for about 80 pages of text. Once he finishes with this rant, it gets more interesting as he begins a historical exploration of the spread of disease, and in particular how disease and war travelled together.
The writing stays on point mostly, except for a few more veiled jabs at other writers and some questionable classist comments that are troubling even for that time (a 'humerous' anecdote about having the police arrest a homeless non-white man so that he could gather lice from him sticks out in my mind). The fascinating two chapters on lice are by far the best of …
This 1934 book is a history of typhus presented as popular science (and apparently as a biography, although it doesn't really follow any such form).
The first four chapters are pretty much unreadable. One Stanford University scientist in the 1930s grinds an axe about many different scientists and writers for about 80 pages of text. Once he finishes with this rant, it gets more interesting as he begins a historical exploration of the spread of disease, and in particular how disease and war travelled together.
The writing stays on point mostly, except for a few more veiled jabs at other writers and some questionable classist comments that are troubling even for that time (a 'humerous' anecdote about having the police arrest a homeless non-white man so that he could gather lice from him sticks out in my mind). The fascinating two chapters on lice are by far the best of the book, however, where Zinsser shows a real affection for the louse.
Another fascination of this book is how it is a historical document of a specific time and sentiment, between two world wars, recording the history of typhus resonates today, when vaccination has made it a much more sedate disease. Zinsser has great moments when writing about disease, and disease history.
