Panagiotis Arkoumaneas for "Deadly Companions" November 10, 2020 – Posted in: Books
Selection from the foreword of the book "Deadly Companions"
This is certainly a book as relevant as ever. Written by the professor of medical microbiology Dorothy H. Crawford, that is, a man who undoubtedly has the scientific training and public health experience required by his subject, Deadly Companions are published in Greek at a time when the attention of the world community has been drawn to a new "enemy". Indeed, with the appearance of the novel coronavirus in early 2020 and the fear that this infectious disease spread worldwide, the interest of all of us (ordinary people, experts and public officials) suddenly and without warning turned to this dangerous microscopic virus and the chaos which he has created. For most of us this was an unprecedented and terrifying situation. But we must not forget that man has come face to face with deadly microbes many times in the course of history.
It is therefore an extremely timely read, but equally timeless on the other hand. As the author very aptly reminds us in her Preface already, pathogenic microbes are nothing new but they first appeared on planet Earth about 4 billion years ago and have coexisted with us since we evolved from our ape-like ancestors. This is also the central theme of the book: the coexistence of humans and microbes since the dawn of the history of our species and the inseparable relationship between them - which is an inescapable truth.
Written in a language as simple as necessary to be completely understandable by the non-specialist reader, interspersed with humor, illustrative descriptions and a multitude of historical references, the author balances wonderfully between valid scientific knowledge through the appropriate amount of scientific evidence and details and highlighting the of ways in which microbes on the one hand and man on the other jointly shaped both their mutual relationship and adaptation to the environment and their evolution as a whole throughout the transitional stages of humanity.
Fascinatingly traversing the past, Crawford analyzes the evolution of microbes over the centuries and examines the great pandemics that have struck the world, leading not only to maximum destruction and loss of life, but also to fundamental changes in human daily life and organization of its societies that shaped the future manifold. The bottom line is indeed one: microbes have always evolved – and will continue to evolve – adapting to their environment and to man, and man in turn has always influenced – and will continue to influence – this evolution with his way of life. It is indeed a very close relationship of mutual interaction and co-evolution.
