The Ghost Map

By: Steven Johnson

Narrated by: Alan Sklar

Length: 8 hrs and 38 mins

Publisher's summary

This is a thrilling historical account of the worst cholera outbreak in Victorian London and a brilliant exploration of how Dr. John Snow's solution revolutionized the way we think about disease, cities, science, and the modern world.

The Ghost Map takes place in the summer of 1854. A devastating cholera outbreak seizes London just as it is emerging as a modern city: more than two million people packed into a 10-mile circumference, a hub of travel and commerce, teeming with people from all over the world, continually pushing the limits of infrastructure that's outdated as soon as it's updated. Dr. John Snow, whose ideas about contagion had been dismissed by the scientific community, is spurred to intense action when the people in his neighborhood begin dying. With enthralling suspense, Johnson chronicles Snow's day-by-day efforts as he risks his own life to prove how the epidemic is being spread.

From the dynamic thinker routinely compared to Malcolm Gladwell, E.O. Wilson, and James Gleick, The Ghost Map is a riveting story with a real-life historical hero. It brilliantly illuminates the intertwined histories of the spread of viruses, the rise of cities, and the nature of scientific inquiry. These are topics that have long obsessed Johnson, and The Ghost Map is a true triumph of the kind of multidisciplinary thinking for which he's become famous. This is a book that, like the work of Jared Diamond, presents both vivid history and a powerful and provocative explanation of what it means for the world we live in.

©2006 Steven Johnson (P)2006 Tantor Media Inc.

Critic reviews

"An illuminating and satisfying read." (Publishers Weekly)
"A formidable gathering of small facts and big ideas." (New York Times Book Review)

This is a thinker’s kind of book

The writer puts you mentally in 19th century London with all of its awful human conditions. Then brings you through a step by step terrifying health crisis and opens the readers eyes as to how it could happen again with much higher human costs.

Fascinating view of fighting an epidemic

Steven Johnson's THE GHOST MAP is an amazing history about a few scientific and religious men who fought the mass destruction that cholera brought to Victorian London in the 1850's, and how it was tamed it at its source eventually - the water.
Sanitary conditions at that time were unimaginable. People were literally drinking sewage. They simply let the solids settle to the bottom of their buckets before ladeling it out. And millions died, often within 24 hours of being infected by cholera.
The book tells of the dedication of these men against backlash and ridicule from "knowledgeable" people, as well as the bacteria itself. There are details and statistics in the book but Johnson makes them interesting and readable.
And more astonishing is how the city undertook a massive project to remedy the problem.
There are warnings in the epilogue about germ warfare and pandemics loosed on the planet by rogue labs in the future. (Ha! This was written in 2015, how could he have known what would happen a mere 5 years later!)
The book is non-fiction at its very best.

(NOTE: He does promote Darwin and "denigrate" Intelligent creation in a couple minor places.)

It was okay until the end

This audiobook is a somewhat interesting account of the deadliest out break of Cholera in London's storied history of outbreaks. It gives an interesting account of city life for lower class Londoners of the day and insights as to how the medical and scientific community of the day operated. It gets a bit dry after the first half, and the ending of the book leaves the subject almost entirely to speculate about the future threats of bioterrorism and nuclear warfare.

The "Conclusion" and "Epilogue" of this audiobook are full of proselytizing about the greatness and moral superiority of city dwellers who are apparently more intelligent, more tolerant, more environmentally conscious, just all around better people. This was written by an inhabitant of NYC who says he would only move after 50,000 people had died in a viral catastrophe, and then only reluctantly.

He also theorizes that cities are more likely to survive a long term shortage of oil, since people in cities don't drive cars as often. This is laughable. How does food get into the city? ON A TRUCK. Also ships. How does it get from the port? ON A TRUCK. What do trucks (and most ships) need to run? Oil and gas.

There is also a good bit of detail about how viruses work and how the microbial world operates, but this books insight is greatly damaged by implying that people who believe in God are superstitious obstructionists, since God cannot be proven, but people who are not willing to betray a peaceful and spacious existence outside of cities are an affront to mother Gaia, since Gaia is DEFINITELY real. No proof required.

Other than the political proselytizing and speculation, this is an okay book.

A seriously entertaining history!

Don't listen to this in a public place, like the train station, or people will think you crazy -- since this narrative will drive you to shout "Holy COW!" and "Oh my GOD, are you KIDDING me?!" repeatedly. Don't listen to it during lunch, unless you have a seriously strong stomach.

If you enjoyed the likes of Guns, Germs, and Steel, you will probably love The Ghost Map. It's shorter, quite a bit lighter, but is absolutely packed with jaw dropping details about Victorian London. If you enjoy Arthur Conan Doyle, you will likely love The Ghost Map, which reads like a Sherlock Holmes mystery in which Dr. Watson does the sleuthing while Holmes is on holiday.

Johnson does a fantastic job of weaving a trainload of London history, sociology, and medical history into a narrative that feels more like a novel.

The only criticism I have is that the last section feels a little soap-boxy, but it's a minor fault -- the sociological issues are sufficiently intriguing.

Timing!

I like this sort of "progress of the world" book, but this one, at this time, was especially poignant. COVID 19 is very close to what the epilogue predicts.

Great first 2/3

Monotone narration, but it's easy to listen to at 1.25 speed. Great first chapter and overall subject. It get pretty redundant and rambling I'm the second half with recap and prognostication.

Ironic

I find it ironic that the author condemns the fake science practiced by those who believed in the Miasma theory but praises the fake science of global warming. The story is good but the epilogue is a liberal manifesto and contributes nothing in telling the story of John Snow. The epilogue doesn't feel like it belongs in the book so read everything except for it.

Great medical history book

This book meets that fine line where history becomes a fascinating story without surrendering academic quality. This is an excellent book for any one curious about the history of epidemiology, urban development, or even just a picture into how frightening the world of the not so distant past really was...

Must read

I liked this book even more than I anticipated. It is a great historical overview of the London cholera outbreak, and offers some important insight into what we should be doing in the Pandemic of 2020.

Quick & Interesting

Quick listen. In depth. Great multi academic applications.