Foreign Bodies

April 1, 2023

A multi-award-winning, best-selling Columbia University historian, Schama (Citizens) offers the entwined histories of pandemic and disease eradication, considering how vaccines were developed, why pandemics are increasing in frequency, and what political, cultural, and personal forces shape the ongoing battle against disease. With a 50,000-copy first printing. Prepub Alert.

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July 1, 2023
A history of the contest between contagion and medical research. Schama, a professor of history and art history at Columbia, has won numerous awards for his many books and TV documentaries. At first glance, a book dealing with diseases would not seem to be a good match for the author, but his methods work well with the subject. Schama focuses on the 18th and 19th centuries, chronicling the smallpox outbreak in London, the cholera epidemic in Paris, and the bubonic plague that swept through India. Smallpox killed tens of thousands, and there seemed to be no answer to it. Eventually, however, it was discovered that deliberately infecting people with a diluted dose could give them immunity against the virus. This seemed counterintuitive, and the medical establishment was solidly opposed to it (a recurring theme of the book). Nonetheless, the concept gradually took hold and became a founding principle of immunology. Cholera, being bacterial in nature, required a different approach, and Schama examines the various theories put forward on the way to the solutions of better sanitation and water filtration. Bubonic plague had been around for centuries, but its reemergence in the late 19th century caught researchers by surprise. Schama notes that a key figure in fighting it in India was the "saintly scientist" Waldemar Haffkine, a gifted microbiologist who developed many of the testing protocols that would eventually underpin the field. He was also instrumental in organizing a large-scale vaccination effort, saving an untold number of lives. This is a broad canvas, but Schama, a diligent and experienced historian, keeps the narrative on track, and he has a good eye for illustrative anecdotes. It adds up to a strong story that, in the shadow of the Covid-19 pandemic, speaks to us all. A vivid account of the horror of epidemics and the breakthroughs that can bring them under control.

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July 24, 2023
Historian Schama (The Story of the Jews) examines in this insightful study the scientific battle against epidemic diseases over the past three centuries, as scientists contended with both the contagions and human intransigence. Schama describes Europe’s gradual acceptance of inoculation to combat smallpox during the 18th century, despite a populace skeptical of an “oriental” solution (the earliest version of inoculation came to Europe from the Ottomans and likely originated in China) that seemed to contravene the “will of the Almighty” (sickness being imagined as divinely ordained) and contradict widely accepted humoral theories, which posited that disease emerged naturally from within the body and strengthened survivors. Schama also recounts the later efforts of vaccine pioneers, focusing mainly on Waldemar Haffkine, a Ukrainian Jewish microbiologist who established the world’s first mass production line of vaccines in British-ruled India. However, this “modern saint and savior” was brought down by anti-vaccine backlash, as he was made the scapegoat for the deaths of 19 Indians who got tetanus from a bottle of plague vaccine that was likely contaminated at the injection site, not during production. Schama concludes with a summary of Anthony Fauci’s struggles in the face of the Covid-19 pandemic, highlighting how modern vaccine resistance is entwined with conspiracy theories and nationalist impulses that resist international coordination, echoing past fears of “foreign” solutions. Schama’s wide-ranging history brings worthwhile lessons from the past to the present. Readers will be enlightened.

Starred review from August 1, 2023
Why are people resistant to receiving disease-preventing, life-saving vaccines when some have botulinum toxin (Botox) injected into their wrinkles, eat junk food, or get piercings and tattoos? In his inquiry into the history and connotation of vaccines, esteemed historian Schama emphasizes worldwide connection: humans to humans, humans to nature. In this sense, the concept of ""foreign"" becomes altered, even muted. He declares, ""there are no foreigners, only familiars."" He scrutinizes reactions to contagion: fear, skepticism, barriers, blame, prejudice, error. Schama focuses most on three diseases: smallpox (with the introduction of inoculation and the ""extraordinary leap of faith"" that required at the time), cholera, and a massive outbreak of bubonic plague in India (with the formulation of an effective vaccine and efforts to administer it). Vaccines are the protagonists, but the cast of characters includes scientific researchers and physicians, countless infection fatalities, and plenty of antagonists besides viruses, bacteria, and rats. Schama shines a lot of attention and reverence on Waldemar Haffkine, a dedicated ""creator and deliverer of vaccines."" Schama acknowledges that ""biology and ecology, and the play between them, are the ultimate shapers of human destiny."" He notes the long history of science colliding with people in power who possess a deliberate ""obtuseness."" This important and inimitable book is sometimes gloomy and tragic, always cautionary and sage.

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