The Plague Race: A Tale of Fear, Science and Heroism - Tapa dura

A modern take on that universally fascinating subject - plagueAs Ed Marriott discovered while researching this brilliant new book, plague is a powerful subject. As well as being a seriously nasty disease, it has its own fascinating history and mythology, and is virulent not only in its epidemics, but also in its fear factor. In PLAGUE, Marriott tells the story of the moment when one brave scientist unlocked the enigma at the heart of the disease. This took place in Hong Kong 100 years ago, during an outbreak that threatened to decimate the island. A tense and frightening race was run by two rival scientists: the French Yersin - a brave, rough and intelligent man - and the suave Kitasako, unscrupulous, enigmatic, popular - and just plain wrong. Peppered with anecdotes, facts and terrifying reconstructions of modern plague outbreaks, this book is a totally absorbing and compelling read. And we are left with some disquietingly sinister thoughts on the likelihood of another outbreak.

Ed Marriott is an acclaimed non-fiction writer, whose first book, The Lost Tribe, was shortlisted for both the Thomas Cook Travel Book Award and the John Llewellyn Rhys Memorial Prize. He lives in London with his wife and two sons.