Changes

1. Rebecca Skloot: ''The Immortal Life of Henrietta Lacks'' – This book falls a bit out of this list’s tiimeframetimeframe, as it takes place during the mid-twentieth century, but Skloot’s book is, undoubtedly, one of the most important works on medical history and society ever published. It was awarded to National Academies ' Best Book of the Year Award , and spent 75 weeks on the New York Times Best Seller list. The book deals primarily with ethical issues in medical research, and illustrates how lines were crossed that should’ve been left alone.

2. Steven Johnson: ''The Ghost Map: The Story of London’s Most Terrifying Epidemic'' – This book is a super fun, quick read that examines a particular outbreak of cholera in London in 1854, and a doctor named John Snow who helped put an end to it. Johnson's work explains how theories of contagion evolved from blaming sickness on "bad air" (miasma), to blaming sickness on bacteria due that arose from unsanitary conditions. Dr. John Snow's findings changed the nature of epidemiology and medical science, in general, forever -- one cannot overemphasize the importance of his work.

3. Bill Wasik & Monica Murphy: ''Rabid: A Cultural History of the World’s Most Diabolical Virus'' – Rabies is still, in modern times, an incurable, deadly disease. If a creature, human or otherwise, is bitten by a rabid animal, that person will most certainly die – and death from rabies remains, even to this day, horrifying to witness. This book examines rabies from a couple of different standpoints -- the actual threat of the disease to public health, and the perception of the disease among individuals.