Priscilla Wald

Wald's examination of outbreak narratives is a fascinating journey through discussions of contagious disease, history, media, pop culture, and scientific developments. Throughout the work, the evolution of what is now recognizable as an outbreak narrative comes clearly into focus. One of the most powerful aspects of the work rests in the fact that Wald uncovers various feedback loops in the ways in which we understand and document disease. How film and literature have influenced our show more understanding and documentation of actual disease, and the way we write about it...how historical experiences with diseases and contagions have influenced the ways in which we now move forward with both research and documentation...how the language we use to document disease has been influenced by pop culture and subsequently influences political and research decisions...how a movie like Body Snatchers reflects and reinforces the (wrong) way we so often analyze and attempt an understanding of disease.

The outbreak narrative, as a form of narrative, is part fact and part fiction, but it has very real consequences in today's society. Wald's work attempts to trace the evolution of this narrative, delving into pop culture, history, film studies, politics, media and journalism, and scientific developments in order to not only follow the convoluted feedback loop created by different narratives related to contagions, but to analyze the various ways (good and bad) that these narratives have influenced, in turn, politics, science, and popular understanding of disease.

For a carefully researched work of nonfiction, Wald's work is incredibly readable, and her endnotes are perfectly balanced--what's there is useful and interesting, but also somewhat tangential...just what belongs in an endnote (as so often seems to Not be the case when it comes to workse like this). Her writing is also clear and detailed, and a useful analysis in the ways science and technology have influenced societal perception, and vice versa.

Overall, absolutely recommended for anyone interested in the subject of contagions or in the ways in which popular narratives have influenced political and scientific developments, or in the ways in which film and literature, as a group of texts, reinforce or influence popular understandings (or misunderstandings) and media. show less

3.5
Quite boring in parts but generally informational