Humans did not make history - we played host. This book is Guns, Germs and Steel without the guns and steel, Sapiens for the pandemic era. A major new history of the world.This humbling and revelatory book shows how infectious disease has shaped humanity at every stage, from the first success of Homo sapiens over the equally intelligent Neanderthals to the fall of Rome and the rise of Islam. How did the Black Death lead to the birth of capitalism? And how did the Industrial Revolution lead to the birth of the welfare state?Infectious diseases are not just something that happens to us, but a part of who we are. The only reason humans don't lay eggs is that a virus long ago inserted itself into our DNA. In fact, 8% of the human genome was put there by viruses. We have been thinking about the survival of the fittest all wrong- human evolution is not simply about our strength and intelligence, but about what viruses can and can't use for their benefit.By confronting our ongoing battle with infectious diseases globally, Dr Jonathan Kennedy shows how germs have been responsible for some of the seismic revolutions in human history, and how the crises they precipitate offer vital opportunities to change course.

This sweeping history is Kennedy's debut, and a powerfully argued one... Pathogenesis sets out, like Yuval Noah Harari's Sapiens or Peter Frankopan's recent The Earth Transformed, to reinterpret the entire history of mankind... A fascinating and pacey run through the history of humanity from an unfamiliar perspective. -- Book of the Week * Sunday Times *
This book challenges some of the greatest cliches about colonialism and leaves you wondering why you ever gave them the time of day. A revelation, and also that rarest thing, a science title that is entirely comprehensible and often a pleasure to read. -- Sathnam Sanghera, bestselling author of Empireland
Pathogenesis is superbly written. Kennedy seamlessly weaves together scientific and historical research, and his confident authorial voice is sure to please readers of Yuval Noah Harari or Rutger Bregman. -- David Robson * The Times *
Thrilling and eye-opening. From neolithic diseases to Covid-19, Jonathan Kennedy explores the enormous role played by some of the tiniest life on Earth: the power of plagues in shaping world history. -- Professor Lewis Dartnell, bestselling author of Origins and Being Human
From the fall of Rome to the Spanish conquest of the Americas to the industrial revolution, germs have played as much a role in history as guns, generals and "great men"... Jonathan Kennedy restores the microbes of infectious disease to their rightful place in the story of human evolution and the rise and fall of civilisations. Science and history at its best. -- Dr Mark Honigsbaum, author of The Pandemic Century
Kennedy's book, which aims to show how infectious disease has shaped us from the time of the Neanderthals to the era of Covid-19, is full of amazing facts... Pathogenesis doesn't only cover thousands of years of history - it seeks radically to alter the way the reader views many of the (often very well-known) events it describes. -- Rachel Cooke * Observer *
Professor Kennedy-drawing on the latest research in fields ranging from genetics and anthropology to archaeology and economics-explores eight major outbreaks of infectious disease across the entire history of civilization... It's not often you pick up a book that promises to alter your entire understanding of the story of humanity. * LitHub *
An absorbing book... Kennedy's intertwined story of humanity and humongous disease is told lucidly and knowledgeably, with ample historical context. * Telegraph *
How a virus might have written human history. This is a fascinating, readable, and superbly researched account of how infectious diseases have shaped our history, from the Palaeolithic Era to Covid. -- Professor David Christian, bestselling author of Origin Story and Future Stories
Our very existence and success as a species, Kennedy argues in this fascinating book, has been shaped by bacteria and viruses. -- Book of the Day * Guardian *
I love this surprising, learned, fascinating book which brings human arrogance into sharp relief, reminding us that the real masters of the universe are microbes. Jonathan Kennedy travels through history, unpicking everything we thought we knew; we are but the pawns and playthings of viruses and bacteria. Mind-blowing. -- Cal Flyn, bestselling author of Islands of Abandonment
Well-timed ... compelling ... hopeful ... Yes, our trajectory is defined by microbes. But it's also influenced by our reactions to them - and our acknowledgment of their power. * The Atlantic *