"This book delves into several illnesses that have infected humans and affected civilizations. Each chapter explores the history of a specific disease, detailing the symptoms, cures, and medical breakthroughs that it spawned"--

Introduction -- Plague, or the black death -- Smallpox, or the speckled monster -- Rabies, or hydrophobia -- Tuberculosis, or consumption -- Cholera, or the blue death -- Scurvy, or the plague of the sea -- Afterword: a "Nobel" pursuit.