The Ghost Map Summary

A read that details the historical prevalence of infectious agents prior to mankind’s scientific discovery of our interactions with other species within the broad environment we fulfill, The Ghost Map: The Story of London’s Most Terrifying Epidemic—and How It Changed Science, Cities, and the Modern World is nothing less than fascinating and important for understanding a brief part of the history of global health concerns. My inclination to use fiction storytelling to share my views on topics I am passion about, connected to Steven Johnson’s well written historical narrative of the September 1854 epidemic of cholera that claimed many innocent lives. However, if it were not for the indefatigable efforts of Dr. John Snow and the intersecting quest

The Night-Soil Men, the first chapter of the book, parallels the work of microbial scavengers and London’s lower-class in the mid-1800s. Though microbial life was not yet identified, it was sensed through smell which led to many theories of how cholera and other diseases spread. Snow recognized that the observed symptoms and exposure of the popular belief that miasma was the source of cholera, and other diseases during the century, were not matched. The miasma theory that invisible vapors from swamps and cesspools floated in the air, where they could be inhaled and transmitted from person-to-person was challenged by Dr. Snow’s idea that the source of cholera was actually due to water-contamination flowing out of the Broad Street pump and into the mouths of locals. Originally a believer of the miasma theory of disease, Rev. Henry Whitehead, one of the protagonist of The Ghost Map, was convinced by John Snow’s hypothesis and their combined work and scientific observations lead to the early emergence of

John Snow’s and Rev. Henry Whitehead’s unwavering belief that the Broad Street pump was the source of cholera— despite the fact that scientist and doctors were reluctant to dispose of the miasma theory. Thus, an important theme presented throughout the novel is ‘sticking to your gun’ in the face of adversity within the lasting opinions’ of your surrounding society. Snow’s political prowess saved hundreds of lives after he applied a lock on the Broad Street pump, though faulty theories