Book Review: The Ghost Map: The Story of London’s Most Terrifying Epidemic

I picked up The Ghost Map: The Story of London’s Most Terrifying Epidemic–and How It Changed Science, Cities, and the Modern World while at a conference in New York City. It seemed like an appropriate book considering at the time we were just about to enter into a pandemic, COVID-19. This book was about the cholera epidemic in 1854 London. One physician was able to track down the source and eventually able to halt the spread.

I found this to be a fascinating tale weaved together by Steven Johnson. The Ghost Map is 256 pages long. It has eight chapters that are rich with details and notes.

The book is part historical novel and mystery thriller. The history side of the book exposed the horrible conditions people were living in during the time. While the mystery thriller side of the books followed a man’s quest to solve what was causing the epidemic. His battle to find the truth ran headlong against the popular theories of the day. Cholera is a waterborne disease but everyone thought it was airborne.

The book covers the period from August 28, 1854 to September 8, 1854. The cholera epidemic killed 616 people in that period.

John Snow, the hero of the story, developed a hunch that the disease was tied to the water supply. He then proceeded to investigate the deaths and developed a map that helped to narrow down the cause.

The methods that Snow used are still being used in the Centers for Disease Control (CDC). He was a pioneer for controlling the spread of disease.

I found The Ghost Map to be a fascinating book. I am dismayed to see the advice not being followed during this epidemic.

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