Patient Zero Audiobook By Lydia Kang MD, Nate Pedersen cover art

Patient Zero

A Curious History of the World's Worst Diseases

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Patient Zero

By: Lydia Kang MD, Nate Pedersen
Narrated by: Hillary Huber
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From the masters of storytelling-meets-science and co-authors of Quackery, Patient Zero tells the long and fascinating history of disease outbreaks—how they start, how they spread, the science that lets us understand them, and how we race to destroy them before they destroy us.

Written in the authors’ lively and accessible style, chapters include gripping medical stories about a particular disease or virus—smallpox, Bubonic plague, polio, HIV—that combine “Patient Zero” narratives, or the human stories behind outbreaks, with historical examinations of missteps, milestones, scientific theories, and more.

Learn the tragic stories of Patient Zeros throughout history, such as Mabalo Lokela, who contracted Ebola while on vacation in 1976, and the Lewis Baby on London’s Broad Street, the first to catch cholera in an 1854 outbreak that led to a major medical breakthrough. Interspersed are origin stories of a different sort—how a rye fungus in 1951 turned a small village in France into a phantasmagoric scene reminiscent of Burning Man. Plus the uneasy history of human autopsy, how the HIV virus has been with us for at least a century, and more.

©2021 Lydia Kang, MD and Nate Pedersen (P)2022 Workman Publishing Company History History & Philosophy Physical Illness & Disease Science Imperialism Africa

Critic reviews

"[A] rich and thought-provoking book... It's also a profound reconsideration of our common understanding of our most famous stories of sickness and science." —Salon.com

“A thorough and morbidly funny study of some of the world’s deadliest diseases… Readers will be swept away by this energetic and enlightening survey.” —Publishers Weekly, starred review

“A fascinating foray into the etiology of fevers, flus, and other foul febrilities.” —James Nestor, New York Times bestselling author of Breath: The New Science of a Lost Art

Fascinating Medical History • Informative Disease Content • Engaging Narrative Style • Educational Value
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Well written and superbly narrated. The type of history you don’t hear about in school. I bing listened and will listen to it again.

Great history lesson

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Excellent book and very informative with smooth sequencing of the history
It should be read by every physician

One of the best books I’ve ever read in the history of medicine I recommend it for anyone interested in medicine

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I love this sort of medical/science/investigative/plague stuff. So I’m very familiar with a lot of the information in any one of these books I pick up. But there was lots of good information in here some of which I already knew but came from a new angle some of which I hadn’t heard before. I can say if you enjoy this and you haven’t read spillover yet you should add that one to your list.

Great book, lots of new information.

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I tried to use this book to get to sleep at night, but it kept me up because it was so interesting!

Kept me up way too late!

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For what it is, another popular science book on another very timely and VERY interesting subject, the book nails the mark. The narrator is excellent and the stories/histories of each of the relevant outbreaks is intriguing. Great book.

Excellent Pop Science Book

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Well written and very exciting to an old microbiologist! From ancient times and biblical diseases through current times and diseases resurfacing as permafrost melts and small pox escaping from a research lab after having been eradicated. The effect that diseases had on history.

Loved history of epidemics and pandemic throughout history!

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The only slightly negative is the typical Anglo-Saxon view of history
But it is a wonderful book

The clear clinical descriptions

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Should be required reading for all whiners of our current time. You might learn something.

Timely and Historic

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Throughly enjoyed this book! I'm an Infection Preventionist and I learned so much, but in a way that was entertaining. This book should be in everyone's library.

Little known facts about diseases that EVERYONE should know!

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Book was very informative and a great book on the history of diseases but I lost interest with their political views. Very biased and not needed.

Great book but biased

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