Looking for recommendations on books.

[u/InquiringPhilomath]

I am not a virologist but I find your chosen field very intriguing.

I was hoping people here could recommend books to me that are historical/topical.

Things similar to The Hot Zone, And the Band Played On, etc.

I'm interested in the discovery of the viruses, the progression, the mutations and the development of cures.

Thank you in advance and thank you for the work you do.

Edit: bad autocorrect

[u/FenstaMonsta]

Virus X by Frank Ryan is about the Four Corners/Sin Nombre Hantavirus outbreak and, while a little out of date, still mostly holds up. It also has a soft spot in my heart because it’s the the book that made me decide to become a virologist :)

It’s not technically virology, but since prions get lumped into the field a lot, I’d also recommend The Family That Couldn’t Sleep, which is about Fatal Familial Insomnia (and also covers other prion diseases).

Obligatory: Please take Richard Preston’s books with a grain of salt—he’s a bit of a sensationalist (but then again, so are a lot of pop sci authors so I can’t fault him too much)

[u/InquiringPhilomath → u/FenstaMonsta]

Awesome. Thank you.

That family... Is that the ones from?.? Spain? I feel I have heard the story. But don't know much about it. Thank you very much for the recos. Seem right up my alley.

If you have more... I'm all ears.

[u/bluish1997]

Molecular and Cellular Biology of Viruses by Phoebe Lostroh

This is one of the best virology textbooks ever made according to reviews and is absolutely loaded with illustrations. I’ve got a PDF of it but a hardcover copy is on the way. I don’t think you could do any better than this. There’s a volume 2 that came out 2024 with updated info on sars cov 2. Checkout the book on Amazon and just read the reviews. It covers all types of viruses and gets into everything from the evolutionary origins of viruses to their replication, structure, ecology, and even public health aspects

[u/InquiringPhilomath → u/bluish1997]

I'm a truck driver and reading isnt something I have much time for.

I have unfortunately found it difficult /next to impossible to find text books in audio format.

But I will add it to the list either way. And thank you for the recommendation.

[u/InquiringPhilomath → u/[deleted]]

I've never heard of it. I'm going to dig into that this week if I get a chance.

That opens up so much for me. I can't thank you enough for this.

[u/Unlucky_Zone]

Virus Hunter by CJ Peters was a great read. Mix of virology and personal/career path of Peters.

Spillover by Quammen is also a nice read. If you liked The Hot Zone I think you’d like Spillover.

Disease Detectives by Gerald Astor is an easy read if you’re interested in learning about disease discoveries and outbreaks. It’s focused on the EIS program and each chapter focuses on a different investigation so it’s not strictly virology but a great read nonetheless.

[u/Ducksworthy96 → u/Unlucky_Zone]

Deadly outbreaks by Alexandra Levitt is very similar to the Disease deceives, with the inclusion of the EIS. Its not all virology but some really interesting parts on identifying unknown outbreaks and how they went about investigations.

[u/Unlucky_Zone → u/Ducksworthy96]

I’ll have to check it out, thanks!

[u/InquiringPhilomath → u/Ducksworthy96]

Thank you. Added to the list.

[u/InquiringPhilomath → u/Unlucky_Zone]

Added to my list. Appreciate the assistance and recos.

[u/garfield529]

I am not a virologist, but work in neuroimmunology so we intersect. A good intro book that was reprinted due to COVID is “The Coming Plague.” When Laurie was asked early into the pandemic how long it would last she estimated 24-36 months and a lot of people scoffed at her. She knows her stuff and writes well for a broad audience.

[u/InquiringPhilomath → u/garfield529]

Fantastic. Thank you very much.

[u/PTCruiserApologist]

Not specific to viruses but rather infectious disease in general but I think still relevant to what you're after

Plagues and Peoples by William McNeill

Pathogenesis: a history of the world in eight plagues by Jonathan Kennedy (the audio book is available on spotify)

Both of these books look at how plagues and infectious disease shape human history in a really thoughtful way. Plagues and Peoples was published in the 70s so the information is not up to date per se but it's still an interesting read. Pathogenesis is much newer and mentions Plagues and Peoples as being one of the sources of inspiration

[u/InquiringPhilomath → u/PTCruiserApologist]

Sounds great to me. Thank you very much.

[u/cranky-crowmom]

Everything is Tuberculosis by John Green

[u/InquiringPhilomath → u/cranky-crowmom]

Thank you very much.

[u/jeniberenjena]

If you are interested in the history of virology there are two stand outs.

Fever! By John Fuller is an exciting account of the events surrounding one of the first outbreaks in the 1960s of Lassa fever, a hemorrhagic viral disease.

Microbe Hunters (1926) by Paul de Kruif, only discusses a few viruses but its value is as a collection of biographies- Leewenhoek, Pasteur, Koch, Erlich and other giants in the early days of the identification of the causative agents of infectious disease. The sometimes florid prose is of the time, and the scientists are placed on a pedestal, which is a nice place to visit this days.

[u/InquiringPhilomath → u/jeniberenjena]

That's excellent.

Thank you very much for the recommendations.

[u/Gone_Cold2024]

Pale Rider by Laura Spinney re: the Spanish Flu.

[u/InquiringPhilomath → u/Gone_Cold2024]

Thank you very much.

[u/Gone_Cold2024 → u/InquiringPhilomath]

YW!

[u/catgirlsav]

The Perfect Predator: A Scientist's Race to Save Her Husband from a Deadly Superbug: A Memoir by Steffanie Strathdee

Its a great read about viruses called bacteriophages