A History of the World in Six Plagues

Author: Edna Bonhomme

Paperback

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10th March 2025

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Description

A History of the World in Six Plagues is a timely examination of the role that confinement has played in fostering and hindering epidemics.

In a rare blend of rigorous research and truly compelling story-telling, Dr Edna Bonhomme traces the long history of viral outbreaks under conditions of social confinement-the plantation system, colonial camps, imprisonment, quarantine, factories-and reveals how these enclosed spaces fuel epidemics.

This is a book about the complicated histories of movement and stagnation, and about the time we live in, with a focus on the racialised history of several key epidemics from the impact of cholera on the plantation economy to HIV/AIDS outbreaks in US prisons.

Critic Reviews

An expansive portraiture of how colonialism and confinement have influenced our understanding of illness and humanity. Thankfully, due to the author's talent and sheer strength in combining personal narrative with history, this book is also tender as it tackles some of the most stigmatized subjects of our time. -- Morgan Jerkins, author of WANDERING IN STRANGE LANDS
Bonhomme embarks on a breathtaking journey through the intertwined histories of contagions and systemic inequities that have shaped our history. With poignant insights and compelling personal narratives, she reveals the stories of marginalized individuals and communities often overlooked in society. Bonhomme's thought-provoking exploration not only sheds light on past injustices but challenges us to confront our history and envision a more compassionate future. -- Uché Blackstock, author of LEGACY
The history of the world is a history of human's usually futile attempts at control: at containing other humans and overpowering the more-than-human world. In this meticulously researched book, Edna Bonhomme shows us the ways that contagious illness frustrates those attempts at control, and how people too have resisted captivity and found ways to care for one another in the worst of circumstances. A powerful book that shines a light on the parts of life we'd rather ignore, and the beauty that can arise from horror. -- Sarah Jaffe, author of FROM THE ASHES

About the Author

Edna Bonhomme is a historian of science, culture writer and book critic and is a contributing editor for Frieze Magazine. She is coeditor of the book After Sex and her essays have appeared in Esquire, Guardian, The Atlantic, London Review of Books, The Nation and elsewhere. She earned a PhD in history of science from Princeton University. Edna previously held fellowships at the Max Planck Institute, the Ludwig Maximilian University of Munich, the Camargo Foundation, and Baldwin for the Arts. She has received awards from the Robert Silvers Foundation and the Andy Warhol Foundation. She lives in Berlin, Germany.