For as along as people have lived together in communities, infectious disease has been a part of everyday life. The fascinating story of disease-causing microbes, bacteria, and viruses crosses every area of human existence - from medicine, social history, and geography to art and natural history. This unique guide takes you on a compelling journey through time and into the future - from the plagues of the Ancient Egyptians to the laboratories of the twenty-first century. Stunning, three-dimensional models of disease-causing agents and superb electron-microscope images reveal this microscopic and dramatic world in incredible detail. Written by science and medical expert Brian Ward and produced in association with The American Museum of Natural History, Epidemic is one of the few in-depth explorations of this extraordinary subject for the ordinary reader.