This section covers books on physical illness and medical conditions. For our extensive range of interviews on mental health, please visit our section on psychology. Here Arthur Ammann, talks about HIV/Aids and why he prefers “plague” to “epidemic” to describe it. He chooses his best books on plagues/epidemics and how they affect human societies as well as individuals.
Seth Mnookin, writer, journalist and author of The Panic Virus: the True Story Behind the Vaccine-Autism Controversy chooses his best books on Vaccines and social and medical attitudes to health and illness. Amongst other books he recommends The Ghost Map: the Story of London’s Most Terrifying Epidemic – and how it Changed Science, Cities and the Modern World by Stephen Johnson as a book he often gives to people “to show them how cool and exciting and accessible and gripping stories about scientific discoveries can be.”
David Biro is associate professor of dermatology at SUNY Downstate Medical Centre in New York, and author of One Hundred Days: My Unexpected Journey from Doctor to Patient, the story of his experiences undergoing a marrow transplant. He chooses his best books on pain and discusses the continuity between physical and psychological pain and the difficulties about writing about pain. Among is choices are Darkness Visible by William Clark Styron, The Body in Pain by Elaine Scarry and The Book of Job by World Bible Publishing.
The best books on Hypochondria, recommended by Caroline Crampton
Author Caroline Crampton was diagnosed with Hodgkin’s lymphoma as a teenager. She recovered, but ever since she has suffered from health anxiety—what you might call ‘hypochondria.’ Here, she recommends five of the best books on hypochondria, from memoirs by sufferers to Jane Austen’s final, caustic novel.
The best books on Chronic Illness, recommended by Polly Atkin
Living with a long-term condition or disability is difficult, says Polly Atkin, the author of Some of Us Just Fall. Those affected often feel isolated, misunderstood, or frustrated by their interactions with the medical establishment. But books about chronic illness will remind you that you are not alone; here, she recommends five memoirs that offer insight into the “kingdom of the unwell.”
Arthur Ammann recommends the best books on the HIV/Aids Plague
When dealing with epidemics, science does not have all the answers and relying on a new miracle drug is not always the solution. We must also learn the lessons of history, argues the veteran doctor of the HIV/Aids epidemic, Arthur Ammann. He picks the best books on ‘plagues.’
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1
Polio: An American Story
by David Oshinsky -
2
Vaccine: The Controversial Story of Medicine's Greatest Lifesaver
by Arthur Allen -
3
The Cutter Incident: How America's First Polio Vaccine Led to the Growing Vaccine Crisis
by Paul Offit -
4
Microbe Hunters
by Paul de Kruif -
5
The Ghost Map: The Story of London's Most Terrifying Epidemic
by Steven Johnson
The Best Vaccine Books, recommended by Seth Mnookin
The Best Vaccine Books, recommended by Seth Mnookin
The history of vaccines is fascinating, and we highly recommend all the books discussed in this interview with Seth Mnookin, author of The Panic Virus and Professor of Science Writing at MIT. These are gripping reads that tell the story of vaccines, medicine’s greatest life-saver, and the risks people took to find them.
The best books on Pain, recommended by David Biro
The professor of dermatology talks about the ferocious inwardness and aching solitude of pain. Pain destroys language, reducing the sufferer to a pre-linguistic state: to primal screams
