Fascinating and fairly thorough history of the struggle between human beings and malaria over millennia. The author uses the fight against malaria as a sort of microcosm to demonstrate the workings of racism, colonialism and imperialism. Some of the things she warned about near the end of the book, over a decade ago are coming to fruition now. Well worth a read if you are interested in public health, disease or ecology ( )

Finally finished! I didn't get into this book quite as much as I did the other book I've read by this author. I also hit a bit of a slump while reading this one (not the fault of the book). However, I still found this quite engaging and informative, especially as I've not really read about malaria before. ( )

Especially during the later Bush years, I heard a lot about mosquito nets to prevent malaria. It was a simple intervention that provided real action. Now, I'm told many (actually, most) of those mosquito nets aren't used to protect those that are sleeping. They are used as fish nets or on only adults, not on more vulnerable children.

This little-known fact and more comprises the main storyline in Fever. Written by an Indian-American with personal ties to the disease, this book chronicles the history of an infection which still makes up one of the greatest public/global health challenges humankind has ever faced.

Topics range from pharmacology to scientific rivalries and from DDT to World War II. Extremely deep research and balance are the main means.

Convinced by the end of the book, I share Shah's concern that little prohibits an antibiotic-resistant version of malaria from rekindling among mosquitoes in Europe or America. If we cannot solve problems on other continents, how will we be able to solve this disease if it comes to our own shores, much like other mosquito-enabled diseases like West Nile Virus? If we cannot limit its scope in Asia and Africa, can we say that we've defeated this disease? Or has it defeated us?
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This is all I ask for in nonfiction about diseases! ( )

Sonia Shah describes the scourge of malaria through history and how it affects millions of people today. She describes how difficult a disease it is to deal with (and why), but also recounts numerous missteps made in the attempt to rid the world of malaria. She is also critical of the popularization of the campaign against malaria, even being critical of the response of organizations like the Gates Foundation. An interesting read that clearly delineates why malaria is so destructive and so difficult to deal with, but doesn't really lead to many suggestions as to how we could do better. ( )