Review by Choice Review
Zaman offers an excellent look at the history of the first discoverers of bacteria and their role in disease, providing anecdotal accounts of the individuals set in their historical and geographic contexts. The author's Pakistani heritage affords him a unique and personal outlook on some of the more recent discoveries, as when political events have shaped the direction of discovery and their effect on society. An emphasis on the overuse of antibiotics and its consequences in highly resistant strains of bacteria is evident. Both naturally occurring antibiotics (usually found in soils) and agents manufactured in the laboratory are described. An example of conflict between good medical practice and customary procedures in the meat packing industry is illustrated by the widespread use of great quantities of antibiotics in the latter, making it increasingly difficult to use them in medical practice. Zaman provides other excellent examples, such as when a physician may prescribe an antibiotic at the request of the patient knowing it is inappropriate and/or useless to do so, thus contributing to the eventual overuse of the antibiotic. A careful reading of this work by a non-scientist general reader would make the current COVID-19 pandemic more understandable. Summing Up: Recommended. All readers. --Francis W. Yow, emeritus, Kenyon College
Copyright American Library Association, used with permission.
Review by Booklist Review
Of the many catastrophes to fear, the increase and spread of antibiotic-resistant infectious diseases is high on the list. We take antibiotics, the wonder drugs of modernity, often and for granted. But bacteria mutate quickly, retooling their "highly sophisticated, multilayered defense mechanism" to repel antibiotic onslaughts, leading to a steady and terrifying rise in untreatable infections. Zaman, an award-winning professor of biomedical engineering and international health and a New York Times columnist, dramatically recounts the history of microbial research from the first magnified glimpse into the massive bacterial realm to the near-miraculous discovery of antibiotics to their commercial production and dissemination. Passionate about the science, the social implications, and the complex personalities of the scientists he so sharply portrays, Zaman reveals how the antibiotic saga of human ingenuity and greed is pegged to military conflicts, from WWI forward. Although resistance is increasing, the development of antibiotics by pharmaceutical companies has decreased, and dangerous antibiotic overuse medically and agriculturally is running rampant. Like those about global warming, warnings about the risk of antibiotic resistance and superbugs have been issued for decades with little action taken. Now the evidence, so vividly presented here, is overwhelming, and Zaman urges us to speak up.
From Booklist, Copyright (c) American Library Association. Used with permission.
Review by Kirkus Book Review
A vivid portrayal of our fight against an opponent that has been around for more than 3 billion years. Zaman, a professor of biomedical engineering and international health, portrays a conflict--between humans and harmful strains of bacteria--that has played out in plagues and epidemics over millennia. That drama has now taken a turn for the worse with the rise of antibiotic resistance. In the U.S. alone, writes the author, more than 35,000 people die every year from drug-resistant infections. One of the primary causes is the overprescription of antibiotics and widespread use in industrial agriculture and livestock for prophylaxis and growth promotion. Bacteria mutate rapidly, and those that survive an antibiotic can pass their resistant genes to progeny as well as to other bacteria species. Indeed, one of Zaman's main points is that bacterial resistance is not new. Bacteria have been engaged in a Darwinian evolutionary competition among themselves since their origin. Samples of bacteria from a newly unearthed deep cave in the U.S.--and from the guts of an isolated tribe in Venezuela--contained bacteria that were resistant to a slew of contemporary antibiotics. The practice of modern medicine has upset a balanced equilibrium. Outside the U.S., antibiotic resistance is occurring where the drugs are available without a prescription and frequently used. They may also be adulterated or substandard and so further encourage antibiotic resistance to infections that are themselves the result of poor hygiene and sanitation. Using firsthand observations from around the world, the author presents many examples of disease outbreaks and the experts and efforts used to resolve them. These vignettes follow chapters that capture the history of bacteriology and the scientists working to fight bacterial resistance, highlighting the usual suspects--and not sparing the moral shortcomings of some. So what next? Despite continued antibiotic resistance and few drugs in the pipeline, Zaman is optimistic, citing new interest in phage therapy and experimental research funded by private foundations and other ventures. A compelling call to action demanding that governments and scientists rise to the challenge. Copyright (c) Kirkus Reviews, used with permission.
Copyright (c) Kirkus Reviews, used with permission.
