 | |
| Author | Hans Zinsser |
|---|---|
| Language | English |
| Subject | typhus,history,epidemics |
| Genre | popular science |
| Publisher | Little, Brown and Company |
Publication date | 1935 |
| Publication place | United States |
| Media type | |
| Pages | 301 |
| ISBN | 0316988960 |
Rats, Lice and History is a 1935 book written by biologistHans Zinsser on the subject oftyphus, a disease on which he performed significant research. Zinsser frames the book as abiography of the infectious disease, tracing its path through history. An important theme of the book is the (according to Zinsser, underappreciated) effect infectious diseases such as typhus had on the course of history, a topic which would later be treated in other popular works such asPlagues and Peoples andGuns, Germs and Steel.
Written for a lay audience, Zinsser's humorous and literate style was well received by readers, and it was widely read on its release, and has since gone through many editions.
The book is divided into sixteen chapters. As alluded to in the book's original subtitle,Being a Study in Biography, Which, After Twelve Preliminary Chapters Indispensable for the Preparation of the Lay Reader, Deals with the Life History of Typhus Fever, the proper "biography" of typhus occurs only in the last four chapters.[citation needed]
The first two thirds of the work provide background information on topics such as:[citation needed]
Having received a classical education that emphasizedliberal arts,[1] Zinsser refers to a number ofclassical works throughout the text, occasionally quoting passages inLatin,French, andGerman (without translation).
Rats, Lice and History received an overwhelmingly positive critical reception on its release. In his review forThe New York Times Book Review,R. L. Duffus wrote that "Dr. Zinsser, without being condescending and with no taint of 'popularization,' has written one of the wisest and wittiest books that have come off the presses in many a long month."[2]In a front-page review in theNew York Herald Tribune Books, physician and medical writerLogan Clendening wrote "It is impossible for me to overpraise this fascinating volume".[1]
Rats, Lice and History was listed byThe New York Times as the 8thbestselling nonfiction book of 1935.[3]
Later generations of scientists and physicians such asEmil Frei[4] andGerald Weissmann have citedRats, Lice and History as an inspiration for their scientific careers.[5]