Timothy C. Winegard

"Hugely impressive, a major work."--NPR A pioneering and groundbreaking work of narrative nonfiction that offers a dramatic new perspective on the history of humankind, showing how through millennia, the mosquito has been the single most powerful force in determining humanity's fate Why was gin and tonic the cocktail of choice for British colonists in India and Africa? What does Starbucks have to thank for its global domination? What has protected the lives of popes for millennia? Why did Scotland surrender its sovereignty to England? What was George Washington's secret weapon during the American Revolution? The answer to all these questions, and many more, is the mosquito. Across our planet since the dawn of humankind, this nefarious pest, roughly the size and weight of a grape seed, has been at the frontlines of history as the grim reaper, the harvester of human populations, and the ultimate agent of historical change. As the mosquito transformed the landscapes of civilization, humans were unwittingly required to respond to its piercing impact and universal projection of power. The mosquito has determined the fates of empires and nations, razed and crippled economies, and decided the outcome of pivotal wars, killing nearly half of humanity along the way. She (only females bite) has dispatched an estimated 52 billion people from a total of 108 billion throughout our relatively brief existence. As the greatest purveyor of extermination we have ever known, she has played a greater role in shaping our human story than any other living thing with which we share our global village. Imagine for a moment a world without deadly mosquitoes, or any mosquitoes, for that matter? Our history and the world we know, or think we know, would be completely unrecognizable. Driven by surprising insights and fast-paced storytelling, The Mosquito is the extraordinary untold story of the mosquito's reign through human history and her indelible impact on our modern world order.

A Human History of Our Deadliest Predator

The Mosquito

From the author of The New York Times bestselling The Mosquito, a sweeping account of the way the horse changed human history The Horse is an account of the horse’s relationship with the peoples of the world, as a mode of transportation, a means of farming, a companion, and a weapon of war. It covers the profound impact of the species in an extraordinary story of evolution, revealing just how much of our existence we owe to this amazing animal. Six thousand years ago, humans domesticated one animal and have relied on it as a key tool in everything from military influence to agriculture: the horse. The horse’s strength and speed is crucial to its role in the history of humankind, lending a hand in expanding trade networks and colonial conquests, and acting as an agent of disease and even as a source of energy. Horses are markers of civilization, and their populations have been used to track people’s movement and settlement around the globe. After the horse was introduced to the Americas by the Spanish during the Columbian Exchange, there was an immediate and total adoption of horse culture by Plains Indians, forever transforming the development of the United States. Filled with fascinating revelations and insights, The Horse is a riveting narrative of the animal that has shaped the world as we know it today.

A Galloping History of Humanity

The Horse

The surprising true story of how the course of human history was redirected, time and again, by the pesky mosquito.

A pioneering and groundbreaking work of narrative nonfiction that offers a dramatic new perspective on the history of humankind, showing how through millennia, the mosquito has been the single most powerful force in determining humanity’s fate Why was gin and tonic the cocktail of choice for British colonists in India and Africa? What does Starbucks have to thank for its global domination? What has protected the lives of popes for millennia? Why did Scotland surrender its sovereignty to England? What was George Washington's secret weapon during the American Revolution? The answer to all these questions, and many more, is the mosquito. Across our planet since the dawn of humankind, this nefarious pest, roughly the size and weight of a grape seed, has been at the frontlines of history as the grim reaper, the harvester of human populations, and the ultimate agent of historical change. As the mosquito transformed the landscapes of civilization, humans were unwittingly required to respond to its piercing impact and universal projection of power. The mosquito has determined the fates of empires and nations, razed and crippled economies, and decided the outcome of pivotal wars, killing nearly half of humanity along the way. She (only females bite) has dispatched an estimated 52 billion people from a total of 108 billion throughout our relatively brief existence. As the greatest purveyor of extermination we have ever known, she has played a greater role in shaping our human story than any other living thing with which we share our global village. Imagine for a moment a world without deadly mosquitoes, or any mosquitoes, for that matter? Our history and the world we know, or think we know, would be completely unrecognizable. Driven by surprising insights and fast-paced storytelling, The Mosquito is the extraordinary untold story of the mosquito’s reign through human history and her indelible impact on our modern world order.

The first comprehensive examination and comparison of the indigenous peoples of the five British dominions during the First World War.

Indigenous Peoples of the British Dominions and the First World War

Tödliche Insekten: Wie Stechmücken die Weltgeschichte beeinflussten Todesursache Nummer 1: die Mücke! Sie ist winzig, aber mächtig, denn ihr Stich überträgt tödliche Krankheiten in pandemischem Ausmaß. Malaria, Gelbfieber, Denguefieber und andere Infektionskrankheiten gehen auf ihr Konto. In 200.000 Jahren Menschheitsgeschichte haben Stechmücken vermutlich mehr als 52 Milliarden Menschen getötet. Das ist die Hälfte aller Menschen, die jemals gelebt haben! Der kanadische Historiker Timothy C. Winegard zeichnet ein vollkommen neues Bild vom Entstehen und Vergehen von Völkern und Staaten, von der Antike bis zur Gegenwart. Er macht seine Leser bekannt mit Steckmücken-Arten wie der Anopheles-Mücke und der Gattung Aedes. Wie diese Insekten den Lauf der Weltgeschichte prägten, erzählt er in seinem packenden Buch. - Moskitos in den Pontinischen Sümpfen: Aufstieg und Untergang des Römischen Reiches durch Malaria? - Tödliche Epidemien bei der Kolonialisierung Amerikas: Warum die Einreise der Krankheitserreger mit Sklaven aus Afrika und europäischen Einwanderern ein Todesurteil für die indigene Bevölkerung war - Der Einfluss von Infektionskrankheiten auf den Unabhängigkeitskrieg der USA und den Amerikanischen Bürgerkrieg - Mit DDT gegen Malariamücken: biologische Kriegsführung vom Zweiten Weltkrieg bis zum Verbot des Insektizids Klimawandel und Erderwärmung: Stehen uns neue Epidemien bevor? Erst im 20. Jahrhundert gab es erste Erfolge im Kampf gegen die Stechmücken. Doch die Erderwärmung begünstigt die Ausbreitung neuer gefährlicher Arten. Krankheitserreger wie das Zika- und das Westnil-Virus sind auf dem Vormarsch. Hat die Menschheit eine Chance im Kampf gegen diese Seuchen? In Timothy Winegards Buch erfahren Sie, was die Mücken angerichtet haben, was bisher im Kampf gegen sie unternommen wurde und wie wir uns für die Zukunft wappnen können!

Das gefährlichste Tier der Welt und die Geschichte der Menschheit

Die Mücke

Bezwzględny morderca, który decydował o losach narodów i przebiegu wojen. W ciągu 200 tysięcy lat naszej stosunkowo krótkiej egzystencji odebrał życie mniej więcej 52 miliardom ludzi. Przenosi destrukcyjne choroby, które są przyczyną bezkresnego potoku rozpaczy i śmierci. I nie ma zamiaru przestać. Komar, a właściwie krwiożercza komarzyca, prowadzi z nami bitwę od zarania dziejów. Potrafi przetrwać wiele przeciwności losu z godną podziwu nieustępliwością. Timothy C. Winegard stworzył niezwykłą, napędzaną zaskakującymi spostrzeżeniami opowieść o owadzie, który wciąż pozostaje niepokonany. W swej książce przywołuje momenty z historii, w których komar odegrał kluczową rolę, i zaskakuje tym, jak ogromny wpływ na nasze życie ma ten niewielki owad.

Timothy C. Winegard

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