The End of Plagues

From the eradication of smallpox to the ongoing battle against deadly contagions, The End of Plagues is a compelling exploration of humanity's fight against disease.

At the turn of the twentieth century, smallpox claimed two million lives per year. By 1979, the disease had been eradicated, marking a global victory. Yet the story of smallpox remains an exception, as today a host of deadly contagions, from polio to AIDS, continue to threaten human health worldwide.

In The End of Plagues, world-renowned immunologist John Rhodes weaves together the fascinating history of vaccination, the birth and growth of immunology, and the fight to eradicate the world's most feared diseases. From Edward Jenner's groundbreaking discovery of vaccination in 1796 to the early nineteenth-century foundling voyages, in which chains of orphans were vaccinated and sent to colonies around the globe, to the development of polio vaccines and the stockpiling of smallpox as a biological weapon during the Cold War, Rhodes charts our battles against these formidable foes and shows how vaccinations have given humanity the upper hand in the fight against infectious diseases.