The Making of a Tropical Disease

The Making of a Tropical Disease is a vigorously argued and accessibly narrated ecological history of malaria, a contribution as much to social medicine and studies in the political economy of disease as to medical history.–IsisA fine book … This short book carries through its thoughtful approach with admirable power and consistency.–LancetA short, well-written, and exceptionally well-documented history and commentary on the possible control–and, hopefully, eradication–of one of the world’s major diseases.–Journal of the American Medical AssociationA terrific book that will guide the next generation of medical and environmental historians as global challenges to health persist and expand in the wake of unintended environmental change.–International Journal of African Historical StudiesAn excellent and well-balanced book that will be of interest to a wide audience. It should be required reading for all those contemplating a second malaria eradication campaign.–Nature MedicineAuthoritative, fascinating, and eye-opening.–Book Bargains and PreviewsPackard’s lightness of touch allows his book to be both enjoyable and compelling, despite the frustration and heartbreak in his story.–Journal of Interdisciplinary HistoryThe author can be congratulated for having tackled such a complex and difficult topic. His research and depth of knowledge on the topic as a historian are just amazing. He has also provided excellent references for further studies.–Canadian Studies in PopulationThis is a remarkable book that will be of great interest to any historian working on the history of disease and to those historians who deal with the difficult question of how to write sound and clear general histories.–Bulletin of the History of MedicineUseful in collections that support tropical medicine, public health, and the history of medicine.–ChoiceWhat gives a special energy to this volume is [the author’s} conviction that the history of malaria is embedded in the history of development and that the lessons of this history must be applied to contemporary development policies.–Journal of Global HistoryWhat Randall M. Packard does masterfully in his book on malaria is to integrate the biological complexity of the disease into its historical, social and economic context, even if he stops short of drawing all the obvious conclusions from the data he so ably presents.–Workers World

Randall M. Packard is a professor of the history of medicine at Johns Hopkins University. He is the author of White Plague, Black Labor: Tuberculosis and the Political Economy of Health and Disease in South Africa and A History of Global Health: Interventions into the Lives of other Peoples.