Book Review: The Ghost Map by Steven Johnson

The Ghost Map
By Steven Johnson

The London cholera outbreak of 1854 was a turning point in medical science. The work of John Snow, aided by the investigations of local clergyman Henry Whitehead provided the first convincing evidence that a disease could be transmitted by contaminated water. Snow's investigation, along with the map that he created from the evidence he and Whitehead collected, would eventually be the downfall of the miasma theory of disease which had been prevalent from the Middle Ages and had its roots in the ancient works of Galen and Hippocrates.

Steven Johnson vividly recounts the conditions of mid 19th Century London and paints a disturbing picture of the progress of an epidemic that struck with horrifying speed and lethality. Untreated cholera can kill within hours, and Johnson recounts the panic as the sickness swept through the Soho neighborhood around the Broad Street pump, which proved to be the source of the outbreak.

Johnson also paints a fascinating and detailed picture of life in the city of London in 1854, a city barely able to sustain its rapidly growing population. The city had become dependent on an entire lower class of scavengers to remove and recycle waste. Johnson extends the discussion to the nature of cities in general, and describes how the mapping techniques pioneered by John Snow have been integrated into technological solutions that are improving life in modern cities.

The Ghost Map is an enjoyable read for pure historical and scientific interest. It also has great relevance to the current growth of cities throughout the world, as well as the ongoing threat of Cholera, most recently in Haiti.

The Ghost Map was book #18 in my goal of reading 50 books in 2010.