''Rats, Lice and History'' is a 1935 book written by biologist

Hans Zinsser Hans Zinsser (November 17, 1878 – September 4, 1940) was an American physician, bacteriologist, and prolific author. The author of over 200 books and medical articles, he was also a published poet. Some of his verses were published in '' ...

on the subject of

typhus Typhus, also known as typhus fever, is a group of infectious diseases that include epidemic typhus, scrub typhus, and murine typhus. Common symptoms include fever, headache, and a rash. Typically these begin one to two weeks after exposure. ...

, a disease on which he performed significant research. Zinsser frames the book as a

biography A biography, or simply bio, is a detailed description of a person's life. It involves more than just the basic facts like education, work, relationships, and death; it portrays a person's experience of these life events. Unlike a profile or ...

of the infectious disease, tracing its path through history. An important theme of the book is the (according to Zinsser, underappreciated) effect infectious diseases such as typhus had on the course of history, a topic which would later be treated in other popular works such as '' Plagues and Peoples'' and '' Guns, Germs and Steel''. Written for a lay audience, Zinsser's humorous and literate style was well received by readers, and it was widely read on its release, and has since gone through many editions. __TOC__

Summary

The book is divided into sixteen chapters. As alluded to in the book's original subtitle, ''Being a Study in Biography, Which, After Twelve Preliminary Chapters Indispensable for the Preparation of the Lay Reader, Deals with the Life History of Typhus Fever'', the proper "biography" of typhus occurs only in the last four chapters. The first two thirds of the work provide background information on topics such as: * Scientific concepts and definitions (e.g. Chapter III: "Leading up to the definition of

bacteria Bacteria (; singular: bacterium) are ubiquitous, mostly free-living organisms often consisting of one Cell (biology), biological cell. They constitute a large domain (biology), domain of prokaryotic microorganisms. Typically a few micrometr ...

and other parasites, and digressing briefly into the question of the origin of life", Chapter IV: "On parasitism in general, and on the necessity of considering the changing nature of infectious diseases in the historical study of epidemics") * Diseases of the ancient world (chapter VI) and their effect on political and military history (chapters VII and VIII) * The important vectors of typhus mentioned in the title,

rats Rats are various medium-sized, long-tailed rodents. Species of rats are found throughout the order Rodentia, but stereotypical rats are found in the genus ''Rattus''. Other rat genera include ''Neotoma'' ( pack rats), ''Bandicota'' (bandicoot ...

and lice (chapters IX through XI) Having received a classical education that emphasized

liberal arts Liberal arts education (from Latin "free" and "art or principled practice") is the traditional academic course in Western higher education. ''Liberal arts'' takes the term '' art'' in the sense of a learned skill rather than specifically th ...

, Zinsser refers to a number of classical works throughout the text, occasionally quoting passages in

Latin Latin (, or , ) is a classical language belonging to the Italic branch of the Indo-European languages. Latin was originally a dialect spoken in the lower Tiber area (then known as Latium) around present-day Rome, but through the power of the ...

, French, and

German German(s) may refer to: * Germany (of or related to) ** Germania (historical use) * Germans, citizens of Germany, people of German ancestry, or native speakers of the German language ** For citizens of Germany, see also German nationality law **Ge ...

(without translation).

Reception

''Rats, Lice and History'' received an overwhelmingly positive critical reception on its release. In his review for ''

The New York Times Book Review ''The New York Times Book Review'' (''NYTBR'') is a weekly paper-magazine supplement to the Sunday edition of ''The New York Times'' in which current non-fiction and fiction books are reviewed. It is one of the most influential and widely rea ...

'', R. L. Duffus wrote that "Dr. Zinsser, without being condescending and with no taint of 'popularization,' has written one of the wisest and wittiest books that have come off the presses in many a long month." In a front-page review in the '' New York Herald Tribune Books'', physician and medical writer Logan Clendening wrote "It is impossible for me to overpraise this fascinating volume". ''Rats, Lice and History'' was listed by ''The New York Times'' as the 8th

bestselling A bestseller is a book or other media noted for its top selling status, with bestseller lists published by newspapers, magazines, and book store chains. Some lists are broken down into classifications and specialties (novel, nonfiction book, cookb ...

nonfiction book of 1935. Later generations of scientists and physicians such as

Emil Frei Emil "Tom" Frei III (February 21, 1924 – April 30, 2013) was an American physician and oncologist. He was the former director and former physician-in-chief of the Dana–Farber Cancer Institute in Boston, Massachusetts. He was also the Richard a ...

and

Gerald Weissmann Gerald Weissmann (August 7, 1930 – July 10, 2019) was an Austrian-born American physician/scientist, editor, and essayist. He was Professor Emeritus and Research Professor of Medicine (Rheumatology) at New York University School of Medicine. He ...

have cited ''Rats, Lice and History'' as an inspiration for their scientific careers.

References

{{Reflist 1935 non-fiction books Epidemic typhus Books about diseases American non-fiction books Little, Brown and Company books