Promotions - Choice's Outstanding Academic Titles 2023 -

In this sweeping history of the four pandemics that shaped modern India, Arnold (emer., Univ. of Warwick, UK) argues that global epidemiological events are more complicated than the specific biological agents and the unimaginable mortality they cause. Pandemics are also culturally, socially, and politically constructed, resulting in inequitable and uneven impacts over space and time. Arnold argues that India has been central to the ways in which people's understanding of pandemics has evolved over the past 200 years. In the 19th century, India was seen as a source of pestilence, leading to further racism and xenophobia. Explanations of its early pandemics failed to consider the ineptness and cruelty of the colonial government in exacerbating the impact of these diseases. Even with these political failures, India was a center of innovation for epidemiological and public health interventions. Finally, Arnold discusses the limitations and dangers of using the pandemic histories to glean lessons for contemporary or future pandemics. Due to the unique social, political, and demographic contexts of each pandemic, they must be understood on their own terms. This is an accessible, must-read introduction to the history of disease and public health, even for those without a background in South Asian studies.Summing Up: Highly recommended. General readers, advanced students, and professionals.