Review Of Irwin W. Sherman's Twelve Diseases That Changed Our World
Twelve Diseases that Changed Our World One learns about the awful and disastrous effects that past infectious diseases had on our world. Millions of people died from them then and they continue to dwindle down populations that have no way to protect themselves against the killers. In Irwin W. Sherman’s book Twelve Diseases that Changed Our World, he explores 12 of the hundreds of diseases that have left their murderous mark on the world. The diseases that Sherman discusses are Porphyria and Hemophilia, Irish Potato Blight, Cholera, Smallpox, Bubonic Plague, Syphilis, Tuberculosis, Malaria, Yellow Fever, Great Influenza, and AIDS. Throughout each chapter, the history of each disease is discussed, how the medicine of the diseases came about
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The history of these diseases is centered upon their effect on the royal blood lines of the past. Porphyria causes a dysfunction of the nervous system and is caused by a genetic inheritance which causes porphyrins to buildup and cause a slew of disorders. Sherman mentions that the British royal family was plagued by this disease. The inheritance goes back to Mary Queen of Scots up until George IV and even recently. As Sherman said in his book, “the disease had persisted in the House of Hanover into the 21st century.” (7) Hemophilia, another ge5 netic disease, does not allow for blood clots to form in time. Since the clot does not form fast enough, “even a small wound or bruise may lead to severe and uncontrolled internal bleeding and death.” (Sherman 8) Royals such as Queen Victoria from England, Alexis from the Russian Romanov family, and heirs of the Spanish royal family were all affected by the disease. Their health conditions greatly affected how royal blood lines went on to be. It affected wars and treaties, marriages and children and the cultures of Europe. The author makes note of how disease and culture are so intertwined and how much of a difference it would have made had such important leaders would not had been plagued by these
The history of these diseases is centered upon their effect on the royal blood lines of the past. Porphyria causes a dysfunction of the nervous system and is caused by a genetic inheritance which causes porphyrins to buildup and cause a slew of disorders. Sherman mentions that the British royal family was plagued by this disease. The inheritance goes back to Mary Queen of Scots up until George IV and even recently. As Sherman said in his book, “the disease had persisted in the House of Hanover into the 21st century.” (7) Hemophilia, another ge5 netic disease, does not allow for blood clots to form in time. Since the clot does not form fast enough, “even a small wound or bruise may lead to severe and uncontrolled internal bleeding and death.” (Sherman 8) Royals such as Queen Victoria from England, Alexis from the Russian Romanov family, and heirs of the Spanish royal family were all affected by the disease. Their health conditions greatly affected how royal blood lines went on to be. It affected wars and treaties, marriages and children and the cultures of Europe. The author makes note of how disease and culture are so intertwined and how much of a difference it would have made had such important leaders would not had been plagued by these