by Gordon Harrison ‧ RELEASE DATE: May 1, 1978
In keeping with the alliteration of the title, one could say ""massive, monumental, impressive. . . and probably more about mosquitoes than most care to know."" But Harrison is a good writer with a novelist's feel for personalities, motivation, mise-en-scène. Part I, haft the book, is essentially a biography of Sir Ronald Ross, as improbable a Nobel laureate (1902) as one can imagine. He dreamed of being a poet or a mathematician. He had no interest at all in being a doctor, but Dad so desired. And--lesson in motivation--when he decided he might want to know more, he did. Doing service in India, he was persuaded that the mosquito might be the vector for malaria (not the ""bad air""). So he learned a little microscopy and pathology, and went about collecting bugs, sampling blood, dissecting insects, enduring malaria himself, all the while keeping up a long correspondence with a mentor in England. This is fine and suspenseful reading as Harrison describes the pitfalls, wrong leads, near misses, and fierce competition that attended malarial investigation (a match for J. B. Watson and DNA). Part II is a more straightforward account of the battle to keep mosquitoes and malaria down, once the complexities of the life cycle of the plasmodium parasite were understood. Unfortunately the story has no happy ending. Malaria is still triumphant in parts of the world; some species of mosquito are insecticideresistant, and seemingly minor changes in weather, the landscape, or movements of people can bring on an epidemic. Particularly depressing is the news that in the interests of development some Third World countries may adopt public health measures in so limited a way as to aid only those more favored already. Harrison is to be complimented for his forthright geopolitical reporting here. Indeed the book as a whole is a first-rate document of medical biography and history.
Pub Date: May 1, 1978
ISBN: N/A
Page Count: -
Publisher: Dutton
Review Posted Online: N/A
Kirkus Reviews Issue: May 1, 1978
Categories: NONFICTION
© Copyright 2024 Kirkus Media LLC. All Rights Reserved.
Hey there, book lover.
We’re glad you found a book that interests you!
We can’t wait for you to join Kirkus!
It’s free and takes less than 10 seconds!
Already have an account? Log in.
OR
Sign in with GoogleTrouble signing in? Retrieve credentials.
Welcome Back!
OR
Sign in with GoogleTrouble signing in? Retrieve credentials.
Don’t fret. We’ll find you.