Abstract
This book is an extensively illustrated work giving brief biographies of the many colourful characters in the field of tropical medicine. It also outlines the development of the study of diseases found in warm climates, their causes and treatments. In most cases the pioneers are those who discovered the causes of diseases grouped under the heading of ‘tropical medicine’ and worked on their prevention rather than their cure. However there are comparatively few diseases that depend on temperature for their development; falciparum malaria and yellow fever are two but others that are now considered tropical, including cholera, leprosy, vivax malaria and plague, have in the past been endemic in Great Britain and in theory could become so again.
The references are extensive and should enable the reader to find further, more detailed information. Much of the biographical material is supported by the Oxford Dictionary of National Biography (2004). Prominence has been given to British researchers, which is understandable given the areas in old atlases coloured red and showing the extent of the British Empire towards the end of the 19th century and at the beginning of the 20th century. However, coverage is also given to foreign researchers, including the work of Alphonse Laveran on malaria; Carlos Finlay, Walter Reed and William Gorgas on yellow fever; and Alexandre Yersin on plague. The author has also included Joseph and Sir Austen Chamberlain who supported the London School of Tropical Medicine (now the London School of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine) and Sir Alfred Jones who was dominant in the foundation of the Liverpool School of Tropical Medicine and its first chairman.
Unfortunately the author has not been well-treated by his copy editor and there are several glaring misprints; mepacine and mepracrin within a few lines of each other on page 214 being an example. Sir Ronald Ross was born in Almora in the Himalayas not Amora, and the name of the disease kal-azar is better known as kala azar – both forms appear in the text and in the index which is confusing. These unfortunately are just a sample.
It is a little difficult to know at which audience this book is aimed; some medical knowledge would be an asset and is assumed in the reader by the author. The book could serve as a ‘taster’ for someone wishing to develop an interest in the subject and as such it would be an introduction. It appears to be intended for adults, not necessarily medical, with an interest in the history of infectious diseases, but it could be useful to teenagers doing a module on the history of medicine for their GCSE.