Parasites, Pathogens, and Progress: Diseases and Economic Development

Environmental historians have long assumed the importance of biological and ecological forces in human history, but rarely with such attention to economic data and theory as in Parasites, Pathogens, and Progress. Robert McGuire and Philip Coelho’s analysis of antebellum disease environments suggests the potential value of the tools and methods of economic history, but the book also reveals the need for a more sophisticated approach to the relationships between humans, diseases, and environments.