quarantine – Stepping Stones

Pandemics in Perspective: Viruses and Man

An arranged compilation of my notes from the book: Viruses and Man, by F. M. Burnet (1953).

As I said in introductions to the first and second posts of this article series, Defoe’s A Journal of the Plague Year was probably the best book to begin this study, as it seems to cover the whole spectrum of situations and incidents that can arise in a pandemic, whilst presenting them in an accessibly narrative form. Following Defoe’s most insightful story, I decided to select one of the academic books in my collection to read next—that being, Viruses and Man, by F. M. Burnet (1953).

Pandemics in Perspective: A Journal of the Plague Year

An arranged compilation of my notes from the book: A Journal of the Plague Year, by Daniel Defoe (1722).

Following the establishment of a global pandemic a few weeks ago, I went through my personal library of books to select those which have direct relevance to the nature and effects of pandemics: as since these things have suddenly become of utmost significance to all, I think it now appropriate to gain some perspective on the subject.

Of the books I selected for this study of pandemics, Daniel Defoe’s A Journal of the Plague Year* stood out as the best one to begin with, for it thoroughly depicts The Great Plague of London that occurred 1665-1666.

*The full text is in the public domain, and can be accessed for free at Gutenberg.org)