The Ghost Map (English)

In this combination medical history and medical mystery, Steven Johnson recounts how John Snow, a scientist, traced the source of a London cholera outbreak in 1854 to a well pump, and how his inventive use and presentation of quantifiable scientific information marked a turning point in science and public health. The title refers to Snow's clever strategy of charting the occurrences of the disease and seeking out its source by examining death lists, house by house surveys and tabulations, water routes under the city, locations of wells, and the flow of people through streets and neighborhoods. Johnson's explanations of prevailing 19th-century medical theories and popular responses to disease are fascinating in themselves as they establish the historical context and provide a sad but fascinating account of the roles that both poor sanitation and poor medical knowledge played in putting the population at risk. A New York Times Notable Book of the Year for 2006. minimize