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Product Information

A maddened creature, frothing at the mouth, lunges at an incent victim and, with a bite, transforms its prey into ather raving monster. It s a scenario that underlies our darkest tales of supernatural horror, but its power derives from a very real virus, a deadly scourge kwn to mankind from our earliest days. In this fascinating exploration, journalist Bill Wasik and veterinarian Monica Murphy chart four thousand years in the history, science, and cultural mythology of rabies. The most fatal virus kwn to science, rabies kills nearly 100 percent of its victims once the infection takes root in the brain. A disease that spreads avidly from animals to humans, rabies has served throughout history as a symbol of savage madness, of inhuman possession. And today, its history can help shed light on the wave of emerging diseases, from AIDS to SARS to avian flu, that we w kw to originate in animal populations. From Greek myths to zombie flicks, from the laboratory heroics of Louis Pasteur to the contemporary search for a lifesaving treatment, Rabid is a fresh, fascinating, and often wildly entertaining look at one of mankind s oldest and most fearsome foes.

Product Identifiers

PublisherViking

ISBN-100670023736

ISBN-139780670023738

eBay Product ID (ePID)183588451

Product Key Features

SubjectSocial Studies: General

LanguageEnglish

AuthorBill Wasik, Monica Murphy

FormatHardcover

Additional Product Features

Date of Publication19/07/2012

Country of PublicationUnited States

Author BiographyBill Wasik is a senior editor at Wired and was formerly a senior editor at Harper s; he writes on technology, media, and crowd dynamics. Monica Murphy holds degrees in public health from Johns Hopkins University and in veterinary medicine from the University of Minnesota. They are married and live with their son and whippet in Oakland, California.

Content NoteBlack & White Illustrations, Frontispiece

ImprintViking