So Very Small
How humans discovered germs, uncovered infectious diseases, and deluded themselves that we had conquered them
Failed to add items
Sorry, we are unable to add the item because your shopping cart is already at capacity.
Add to Cart failed.
Please try again later
Add to Wish List failed.
Please try again later
Remove from wishlist failed.
Please try again later
Adding to library failed
Please try again
Follow podcast failed
Please try again
Unfollow podcast failed
Please try again
$0.00 for first 30 days
LIMITED TIME OFFER
$0.99/mo for the first 3 months
Offer ends April 30, 2025 at 11:59PM PT.
Prime members: New to Audible? Get 2 free audiobooks during trial.
Pick 1 audiobook a month from our unmatched collection.
Listen all you want to thousands of included audiobooks, Originals, and podcasts.
Access exclusive sales and deals.
Premium Plus auto-renews for $14.95/mo after 3 months. Cancel anytime.
Pick 1 audiobook a month from our unmatched collection.
Listen all you want to thousands of included audiobooks, Originals, and podcasts.
Access exclusive sales and deals.
Premium Plus auto-renews for $14.95/mo after 30 days. Cancel anytime.
So Very Small
Narrated by:
Mike Cooper
Pre-order for $17.45
No default payment method selected.
We are sorry. We are not allowed to sell this product with the selected payment method
Pay using card ending in
By confirming your purchase, you agree to Audible's Conditions of Use and Amazon's Privacy Notice. Taxes where applicable.
-
Narrated by:
-
Mike Cooper
-
By:
-
Thomas Levenson
About this listen
In 1665, an infectious disease swept through the British capital and claimed the lives of tens of thousands of people. It would take another two hundred years for the cause of the Great Plague of London to be confirmed: a powerful bacterium called Yersinia pestis. In those centuries, our understanding of diseases was transformed.
In So Very Small, Thomas Levenson reveals how human hubris led us to overestimate our own ability and underestimate the threat that microorganisms truly pose. He journeys through some of the most significant epidemics and pandemics in history, including the recurrent outbreaks of cholera in Europe and Asia, and the
1721 Boston smallpox epidemic.
The turning point came in the nineteenth century with the development of germ theory: the concept that microbes can cause disease. Levenson shows how, in the years that followed, scientists made major breakthroughs in our ongoing struggle against infectious disease. Perhaps the greatest of these achievements is the discovery of antibiotic treatment, which has been the salvation of much of humanity in recent centuries.
In a story that spans centuries and continents, So Very Small explores the scientific quest to understand how tiny organisms have impacted the wider world – and looks ahead to the battle to fight their rapid evolution.©2025 Thomas Levenson (P)2025 Bloomsbury Publishing Plc
adbl_web_global_use_to_activate_webcro768_stickypopup