Rabid

A Cultural History of the World’s Most Diabolical Virus

By: Bill Wasik, Monica Murphy

Narrated by: Johnny Heller

Length: 8 hrs and 8 mins

Publisher's summary

A maddened creature, frothing at the mouth, lunges at an innocent victim—and with a bite, transforms its prey into another raving monster. It’s a scenario that underlies our darkest tales of supernatural horror, but its power derives from a very real virus, a deadly scourge known to mankind from our earliest days. In this fascinating exploration, journalist Bill Wasik and veterinarian Monica Murphy chart four thousand years in the history, science, and cultural mythology of rabies.

The most fatal virus known to science, rabies kills nearly 100 percent of its victims once the infection takes root in the brain. A disease that spreads avidly from animals to humans, rabies has served as a symbol of savage madness and inhuman possession throughout history. Today, its history can help shed light on the wave of emerging diseases—from AIDS to SARS to avian flu—with origins in animal populations.

From Greek myths to zombie flicks, from the laboratory heroics of Louis Pasteur to the contemporary search for a lifesaving treatment, Rabid is a fresh, fascinating, and often wildly entertaining look at one of mankind’s oldest and most fearsome foes.

Bill Wasik is a senior editor at Wired magazine and was previously a senior editor at Harper’s, where he wrote on culture, media, and politics. He is the editor of the anthology Submersion Journalism and has also written for Oxford American, Slate, Salon, and McSweeney’s.

©2012 Bill Wasik and Monica Murphy (P)2012 Blackstone Audio, Inc.

Critic reviews

"[An] ambitious and smart history of the virus…. The authors track how science tried to tame the scourge, with its ravaging neurological effects. Yet the rare tales of modern survivors only underscore that, despite the existence of treatment through a series of injections, we're at a stalemate in conquering rabies." ( Publishers Weekly)

"[Wasik and Murphy] place the world's deadliest virus in its historical and cultural context with a scientifically sound and compelling history that begins in ancient Mesopotamia and ends in twenty-first-century Bali…Readable, fascinating, informative, and occasionally gruesome, this is highly recommended for anyone interested in medical history or the cultural history of disease." ( Library Journal)

Totally Fascinating

This book was excellent. It was detailed enough to interest someone who knew some about rabies beforehand, yet clearly presented so anyone could follow and understand it. It did have some gory details, but they weren't such a focus that the gross-out factor overshadowed the story. Although it is informative about a serious subject, it also does a good job of telling a series of stories. The development of the vaccine was a particularly great one, but the historical perspectives on cases and the modern medical story of the rabies survivor were also very interesting. I found the pop culture angle sort of thin, but the rest of it was much more substantial and engrossing.

There is something about the narrator that I don't like, but I can't quite put my finger on it. It may just be that he narrated another audiobook I didn't enjoy, but it wasn't exceptional.

Overall, I would highly recommend this book to anyone who enjoys popular science writing, medical nonfiction, or social/cultural histories. It would appeal to a much larger audience than it may appear at first glance.

Horrifying and fascinating

Would you listen to Rabid again? Why?

I already have. It's a scientific story without being sluggish or confusing. It's more than just a book about rabies, it's a series of stories.

Any additional comments?

Rabies is one of those things that I've heard about all my life but I never really learned about it. The extent of my knowledge was that it was fatal and it made animals aggressive and foamy. I had no idea how completely terrifying it is, and what a serious issue it is. I can assure you that I am 100% positive that my cats are all up to date on their rabies shots now.

Potentially dull book saved by narrator

I got this audiobook because of the fascinating topic, but almost stopped listening because of the ponderous, academic writing style. Johnny Heller somehow managed to keep me engaged, until the final few chapters that were written in a lighter, more "listenable " way. Perhaps the two authors should have collaborated more closely than each writing his/her own chapters.

Interesting history of a deadly disease

Would you listen to Rabid again? Why?

No. I don't listen to books again. Too many other good books are waiting to be read.

What was one of the most memorable moments of Rabid?

The historical ways others treated rabies,

What aspect of Johnny Heller’s performance would you have changed?

Nothing. He did well.

Did you have an extreme reaction to this book? Did it make you laugh or cry?

No.

Nice mix of history, science, and culture

Any additional comments?

I really enjoyed this book. Binged the entire thing in a few days. It brings in science, history, and culture nicely as it recites the history of rabies. It never feels dry, rushed, or moving slow, it is aware of the serious matter, but isn't dark or gloomy, but overall has a hopeful tone.

Too much extraneous detail

This book could have been edited down by at least a third. A lot of detail it doesn’t relate to the topic

very interesting

the first little bit was kinda boring but then it gets really interesting to learn about how the man made the first vaccine and what happened after.

Very good

This was well written. Sometimes books like this can be dull and over bearing with all the information but this wasn't. Enjoyable to listen to.

Gross and engrossing topic.

I enjoyed the way the author explains how the rabies virus and people's cultural fears caused literary authors to write books about monsters like
like Frankenstein, Vampires, and Werewolves.

Unexpected and Intriguing

Bill Wasik and Monica Murphy's "Rabid: A Cultural History of the World's Most Diabolical Virus" (2012) was an unexpected convergence of my reading loves. "Rabid" combines biological science, history, mystery and science.

I expected a thorough discussion of Louis Pasteur, who discovered the virus that causes rabies (after first having to realize it was not a bacteria) and developed a treatment and a vaccine. That's there, in full detail, including the careful scientific protocol Pasteur used; the missteps; the scientific jealousies; and the vaccine skeptics that thrive even today. There's a discussion of the Milwaukee protocol of induced coma to treat rabies now, for people who don't realize they have been infected until it's too late to undergo the modified Pasteur treatment used today. That's the second half of the book.

The first half is devoted to the history of rabies. I didn't expect such a thorough survey and literary analysis of rabies in fiction. There are the obvious: Stephen King's "Cujo" (1981) and Fred Gipson's "Old Yeller" (1956), and the 1957 Walt Disney movie. The subtle literary origins are even more intriguing. Wasik and Murphy argue that Charlotte Bronte's "The Professor" (1857), Richard Matheson's "I Am Legend" (1954) and Seth Grahame-Smith's "Pride and Prejudice and Zombies" (2009) all owe their origins to rabies outbreaks. I am not sure that I agree, but it is an intriguing position: do some of the vampire legends of the last two millennia arise from rabies? The discussion of rabies in Zora Neale Hurston's "There Eyes Were Watching God" (1937) was so poignant I would have stopped reading "Rabid" and pulled out my text copy of Hurston's book if I hadn't been driving.

Johnny Heller's narration was good, although almost a little too chipper for the topic.

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