Buxton Books is honored to be the booksellers for the Charleston Library Society’s Speaker Series with Dr. Jim Downs & Dr. Jacob Steere-Williams.

ABOUT THE BOOKS:

Maladies of an Empire by Dr. Jim Downs:

“Most stories of medical progress come with ready-made heroes. John Snow traced the origins of London’s 1854 cholera outbreak to a water pump, leading to the birth of epidemiology. Florence Nightingale’s contributions to the care of soldiers in the Crimean War revolutionized medical hygiene, transforming hospitals from crucibles of infection to sanctuaries of recuperation. Yet histories of individual innovators ignore many key sources of medical knowledge, especially when it comes to the science of infectious disease. Boldly argued and eye-opening, Maladies of Empire gives a full account of the true price of medical progress.”

The Filth Disease by Dr. Jacob Steere-Williams:

“Victorian public health reformers, working in central and local government, framed typhoid as the most pressing public health problem in order to persuade local officials to implement sanitary infrastructure to prevent the spread of disease. In this period British epidemiologists uncovered how typhoid is spread via food and water supplies, disrupting the longstanding idea that typhoid was spread via filth. In the process, the modern disciple of epidemiology emerged as the chief science of public health. The Filth Disease provides a striking reminder of the cultural context in which infectious diseases strike populations and how scientists study them.”

ABOUT THE AUTHORS:

Dr. Downs is Gilder Lehrman-National Endowment for the Humanities Professor of Civil War Era Studies and History at Gettysburg College. He is the editor of Civil War History and author and editor of six other books, including Sick from Freedom: African-American Illness and Suffering during the Civil War and Reconstruction. Dr. Steere-Williams is an Associate Professor & the Director of Graduate Studies for the Department of History at the College of Charleston. He also is the Associate Editor for the Journal of the History of Medicine and Allied Sciences, and author of The Filth Disease: Typhoid Fever and the Practices of Epidemiology in Victorian England. 

This is a ticketed event. Purchase your tickets today!

Order your copy of Maladies of an Empire and The Filth Disease today!