FOREIGN BODIES

A history of the contest between contagion and medical research.

Schama, a professor of history and art history at Columbia, has won numerous awards for his many books and TV documentaries. At first glance, a book dealing with diseases would not seem to be a good match for the author, but his methods work well with the subject. Schama focuses on the 18th and 19th centuries, chronicling the smallpox outbreak in London, the cholera epidemic in Paris, and the bubonic plague that swept through India. Smallpox killed tens of thousands, and there seemed to be no answer to it. Eventually, however, it was discovered that deliberately infecting people with a diluted dose could give them immunity against the virus. This seemed counterintuitive, and the medical establishment was solidly opposed to it (a recurring theme of the book). Nonetheless, the concept gradually took hold and became a founding principle of immunology. Cholera, being bacterial in nature, required a different approach, and Schama examines the various theories put forward on the way to the solutions of better sanitation and water filtration. Bubonic plague had been around for centuries, but its reemergence in the late 19th century caught researchers by surprise. Schama notes that a key figure in fighting it in India was the “saintly scientist” Waldemar Haffkine, a gifted microbiologist who developed many of the testing protocols that would eventually underpin the field. He was also instrumental in organizing a large-scale vaccination effort, saving an untold number of lives. This is a broad canvas, but Schama, a diligent and experienced historian, keeps the narrative on track, and he has a good eye for illustrative anecdotes. It adds up to a strong story that, in the shadow of the Covid-19 pandemic, speaks to us all.

A vivid account of the horror of epidemics and the breakthroughs that can bring them under control.