Lyme: The First Epidemic of Climate Change

Lyme: The First Epidemic of Climate Change

by Mary Beth Pfeiffer (Author)

Synopsis

Superbly written and researched. --Booklist

Builds a strong case. --Kirkus

Lyme disease is spreading rapidly around the globe as ticks move into places they could not survive before. The first epidemic to emerge in the era of climate change, the disease infects half a million people in the US and Europe each year, and untold multitudes in Canada, China, Russia, and Australia.

Mary Beth Pfeiffer shows how we have contributed to this growing menace, and how modern medicine has underestimated its danger. She tells the heart-rending stories of families destroyed by a single tick bite, of children disabled, and of one woman's tragic choice after an exhaustive search for a cure.

Pfeiffer also warns of the emergence of other tick-borne illnesses that make Lyme more difficult to treat and pose their own grave risks. Lyme is an impeccably researched account of an enigmatic disease, making a powerful case for action to fight ticks, heal patients, and recognize humanity's role in a modern scourge.

$16.59

Save:$10.21 (38%)

Quantity

1 in stock

More Information

Format: Hardcover
Pages: 256
Edition: 2
Publisher: Island Press
Published: 14 Jun 2018

ISBN 10: 1610918444
ISBN 13: 9781610918442

Media Reviews
A superbly written piece of investigative reporting, Lyme is as macabre as a Stephen King horror novel--except the topic is all the more frightening because it's real. --Garth Ehrlich, Executive Director of the Center for Genomic Sciences, Drexel University
As Pfeiffer's hard-hitting study reminds us, non-specific symptoms and other complexities make tackling Lyme a formidable challenge...She nimbly interweaves numerous strands of research--into the influence of climate change on the Lyme invasion, the disease, the pathogen, the vectors and the harrowing impacts borne by some sufferers. --Nature
Superbly written and researched, Pfeiffer's work should go a long way toward convincing the public to take this modern-day scourge more seriously. --Booklist
In page after page of data and interviews with patients, advocates, and researchers around the world, Pfeiffer builds a strong case...the basic facts she sets forth are credible, and they deserve immediate attention. --Kirkus
Engrossing...Pfeiffer makes a compelling argument that Lyme is expanding because of human influences on the environment, from warming temperatures to killing deer..this issue is important, urgent, and needs more advocates. --Massive Science
Powerful. --Slate
Heart-wrenching...After you read Lyme, the standard advice of 'do your due diligence, check for ticks, stay aware' won't seem adequate...Pfeiffer has delivered a powerful wake-up call. --Sierra
A highly enjoyable, illuminating and informative read...I enjoyed this book so much that when I finished it...I went right back to the start to reread it. --Lyme Disease UK
Author Bio
Mary Beth Pfeiffer has been an investigative reporter for three decades and is the author of Crazy in America: The Hidden Tragedy of Our Criminalized Mentally Ill (Carroll & Graf Publishers/Basic Books, 2007).