Granted, this review is a little off-center, since it’s not ‘Medicine: A Very Short Introduction’. I couldn’t find that book in existence, you know. Although I did put it as: applied science/general medicine/barriers to medical health, since it does seem more everyday than general science topics like what’s in the sun, even if it is less ‘practical’ in a certain sense than some topics (ie viruses vs bacteria in the oceans), and that’s the spectrum of applied science, basically.

Now, just to criticize the book it’s not—Medicine: a VSI, if you will: I guess a lot of our medicine is based on the idea of the struggle for life, which certainly does exist (viruses vs bacteria in the oceans, etc.), even if it does have some unpleasant overtones (bash those microbes into submission, Kate. Be a man!). So the idea is that there’s this tiny parasite, or whatever, and it attacks the weak cells, and then we get sick, but if we killed the parasites we’d be okay. That does work sometimes, of course, but I wonder we why so infrequently ask why our cells become weak to begin with. Not that there isn’t ANY general medicine work on nutrition or general health, as opposed to barriers to medical health, (parasites, etc), but generally it’s so underfunded and funneled into standardized, almost legal thinking, about how everyone is the same and has the same needs, that it’s extremely sub-optimal considering the money that gets spent on healthcare.

But, again, that’s not QUITE what this book is about, and it is still nice to see a girl write a well-regarded book on science for the general reader—like me!—of course.

…. I support vaccinations, though. Supporting public health is just being a good citizen.

It’s also noteworthy that vaccinations have their roots in pre-1700s practices of the doctors of Eastern civilization….

…. Also, although there are obviously Christians who take vaccines, the attitude of the church isn’t entirely clean in that regard and has led to some resistance—the sources basically being, ‘Oppose bad others and their bad ideas’, and ‘Oppose the assertion of the human will in general’.

And, you know, clearly there are also people who go to church who are more at home with doctors’ medicine than with miracle or faith healings, whether in the Bible or anywhere else, and I happen to disagree with that, too—a little too normal for me…. When Hermes, the Creator, created normal people, he slapped himself in the forehead and said, God! (some manuscripts read, ‘Me!’), they can’t ALL be like that, can they? 😸

…. I know that this is where I lose you, but it’s just so trippy to think that there are innumerable little organisms out there, that aren’t really alive, and which enormously outnumber all the organisms that are alive, that do nothing but parasitize life and try to suck the juice out of it, and then I wonder what the world would be like, if people (or gods?) weren’t thinking almost entirely self-hating thoughts continually, you know…. There must be wonderful powers in the world, for things to be so wicked; it is almost a marvel, you know.

…. Just to repeat myself a little bit, but: there is essentially an ocean of information about barriers to health, and basically a little muddy puddle of information about what a non-specialist can do to have some agency over their own health, right.

(shrugs) But that’s the state of science in our own day, and I wanted to know what the scientists were up to.

A very readable book about a very complicated subject. I really wanted to wash my hands a lot while reading it though. And avoid any creature that sneezed or coughed. ( )

Viruses are fascinating. I don't know if they are alive or dead. No one knows. Some people call them the living dead.
The book provides us a fascinating, but limited, peep into the world of viruses. They have been around long before us and will be around long after we become extinct.
There is a superb introduction to viruses, and how they proliferate. From there on, Dorothy Crawford focused her writing on the disease-causing aspect of viruses.
I understand she needs to focus. However, viruses play a massive role in maintaining the world, and in helping humans reproduce. She did not mention this at all.

The tragedy of a book like this, is we walk away with an excellent, but limited view of viruses.

I hope a future edition of this book addresses this limitation. ( )

Great book if you have an interest in virus history and are not in a medical field. ( )

Does what it says on the tin. Well written, easy to follow for a lay-person, timely having it on the shelf waiting to be read. ( )