PublishedText Publishing, August 2019 |
ISBN9781911231127 |
FormatSoftcover, 300 pages |
Dimensions0.1cm × 0.1cm |
A ground-breaking work of narrative non-fiction that offers a dramatic new perspective on human history.
What was George Washington's secret weapon during the American Revolution, and how did it lead to Britain colonising Australia? What protected Popes for centuries? And what does Starbucks have to thank for its global domination?
The answer to all these questions, and many more, is the mosquito.
The mosquito has razed economies, determined the fates of empires and decided the outcome of pivotal wars. She-only females bite-has dispatched an estimated 52 billion people from a total of 108 billion ever to have lived. As the greatest purveyor of extermination we have known, she has played a greater role in shaping our history than any other living creature.
The Mosquito is the extraordinary story of how a tiny bloodsucking fly indelibly changed our world. Driven by surprising insights and fast-paced storytelling, it will appeal to readers of Peter Wohlleben and Elizabeth Kolbert-and to anyone who has swatted at one of the 110 trillion mosquitoes buzzing about the Earth.
Bill is one of the founders of Boffins and has been involved in selecting the books we stock since our beginning in 1989. His favourite reading is history, with psychology, current affairs, and business books coming close behind. His hobbies are reading, food, reading, drinking, reading, and sleeping.
My dad had terrible writing, and he didn’t have a steady hand. After he died many years ago, a cousin gave me a Christmas card sent by him soon after he joined up in World War Two. It’s written in beautiful copperplate, and I can recognise the refined version of my dad’s handwriting.
Like many soldiers who served in New Guinea, he contracted malaria, and the unsteady hand was malaria’s lifelong gift
Basically, our 7.7 billion human beings are under siege from 110 trillion mosquitoes that patrol almost every corner of the globe – except places like Antarctica where you probably don’t want to hang around for all of your lifetime
The female mosquito doesn’t directly harm anyone, she just carries around some deadly diseases and inflicts them on us – like malaria, dengue fever, yellow fever to name a few
This fascinating book tells the story of how the mosquito has affected history – the American Revolution, Scotland’s incorporation into the United Kingdom, the survival of the Papacy are just a few examples of the mosquito’s game changing abilities (intended or not).
