Thomas Levenson – författare

Scientific truth, and the vast benefits of modern medicine, are under sustained attack from conspiracy theorists. Not since the nineteenth century has there been such a relentless assault on tried and tested science.In this urgent history of anti-vaccine arguments, Thomas Levenson traces the alarming rhetoric of figures such as Robert F. Kennedy Jr. and Ron DeSantis back to its roots, examining how their very same talking points have been regurgitated since the early eighteenth century. But what once started as justifiable skepticism of an emerging science is now completely divorced from reality. As Levenson demonstrates, vaccines themselves have transformed beyond recognition, but anti-vaccine rants echo the same meaningless tropes long after they have become obsolete.This history is vital for our understanding of the political and cultural landscape as it mutates into ever-more terrifying forms. With wit and acerbity, Levenson offers a thorough dissection of anti-vaccine arguments and sets out undeniable evidence for the necessity of inoculation.Levenson warns, above all, of the dangers of proliferation – of anti-vaccine misinformation, and relatedly, of deadly disease and suffering. It is only in understanding these fools that we can begin to stop them.

This globe-spanning history follows the thread of human ingenuity and hubris across centuries? ?along the way peering into microscopes, spelunking down sewers, traipsing across the battlefield, and more? ?to show how we came to understand the microbial environment and how little we understand ourselves. Illustrations.

Already famous throughout Europe for his theories of planetary motion and gravity, Isaac Newton decided to take on the job of running the Royal Mint. And there, Newton became drawn into a battle with William Chaloner, the most skilful of counterfeiters, a man who not only got away with faking His Majesty's coins (a crime that the law equated with treason), but was trying to take over the Mint itself.But Chaloner had no idea who he was taking on. Newton pursued his enemy with the cold, implacable logic that he brought to his scientific research.Set against the backdrop of early eighteenth-century London with its sewers running down the middle of the streets, its fetid rivers, its packed houses, smoke and fog, its industries and its great port, this dark tale of obsession and revenge transforms our image of Britain's greatest scientist.

A Financial Times Economics Book of the Year A brilliant narrative of early capitalism's most famous scandal, a speculative frenzy that nearly bankrupted the British state during the hot summer of 1720 – and paradoxically led to the birth of modern finance. The South Sea Company was formed to trade with Asian and Latin American countries. But it had almost no ships and did precious little trade. Instead it got into financial fraud on a massive scale, taking over the government's debt and promising to pay the state out of the money received from the shares it sold.And how they sold. In the summer of 1720 the share price rocketed and everyone was making money. Until the carousel stopped, and thousands lost their shirts. Isaac Newton, Alexander Pope and others lost heavily.Thomas Levenson's superb account of the South Sea Bubble is not just the story of a huge scam, but is also the story of the birth of modern financial capitalism: the idea that you can invest in future prosperity and that governments can borrow money to make things happen, like funding the rise of British naval and mercantile power. These dreamers and fraudsters may have bankrupted Britain, but they made the world rich.Praise for Money For Nothing: 'A scholar who makes complicated and subtle matters not just accessible but fun. Utterly relevant to the 2008 financial crisis and 2020 pandemic' SIMON SEBAG MONTEFIORE'Thoroughly researched and vibrantly written, Money For Nothing captures those heady, heartbreaking times, which still hold lessons for today' DAVID KAISER'A gripping story of scientists and swindlers, all too pertinent to our modern world' JAMES GLEICK'It's easy to look back and think of the South Sea bubblers, like the tulip-mad Dutch of the 1630s, as financially naive – until you remember how many people jumped in on various other more recent crazes (from Beanie Babies to Pets.com and Bitcoin). This is not a new tale, but Levenson tells it with a light touch' SPECTATOR

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 the1721 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.

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 the1721 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.