I just finished a compelling book of non-fiction called The Ghost Map: The Story of London’s Most Terrifying Epidemic and How It Changed Science, Cities and the Modern World [2006]. Written by Steven Johnson, it chronicles the gripping true story of a cholera epidemic that raged through a small neighborhood during August and September in 1854 London. More than 50,000 men, women and children died that summer (many dying within 48 hrs). Part detective story, part historical narrative, part medical mystery, this book is a real page-turner! I found many parts to be truly frightening, other parts scientifically fascinating. It’s a fast read and an insightful parable about how we have learned to live with and conquer deadly disease.
The book gets its name from that map created by renowned physician Dr. John Snow, in which he plotted not only the deaths (and recoveries) in the outbreak, but also the movement of the residents to and from various public water pumps. This turned out to be a revolutionary idea for its time and helped prove the existence of waterborne disease and disprove the myth that infectious air was the cause. It is believed to be the first example of the use of geography to track and solve a public health crisis. The map is praised to this day as a brilliant example of early information design.