A ground-breaking work of narrative non-fiction that offers a dramatic new perspective on human history. What was George Washington's secret weapon during the American Revolution, and how did it lead to Britain colonising Australia? What protected Popes for centuries? And what does Starbucks have to thank for its global domination? The answer to all these questions, and many more, is the mosquito. The mosquito has razed economies, determined the fates of empires and decided the outcome of pivotal wars. She-only females bite-has dispatched an estimated 52 billion people from a total of 108 billion ever to have lived. As the greatest purveyor of extermination we have known, she has played a greater role in shaping our history than any other living creature. The Mosquito is the extraordinary story of how a tiny bloodsucking fly indelibly changed our world. Driven by surprising insights and fast-paced storytelling, it will appeal to readers of Peter Wohlleben and Elizabeth Kolbert-and to anyone who has swatted at one of the hundred trillion mosquitoes buzzing about the Earth
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Taal
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Engels
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Beschikbare vertalingen
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Nederlands
Meer informatie
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Uitgever
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Text Publishing, Melbourne, Victoria
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Verschenen
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2019
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ISBN
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9781911231127
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191123112X
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Kenmerken
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486 pagina's
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Aantekening
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Includes bibliographical references and index
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Introduction -- Toxic twins : the mosquito and her diseases -- Survival of the fittest : fever demons, footballs, and sickle cell safeties -- General Anopheles : from Athens to Alexander -- Mosquito legions : the rise and fall of the Roman Empire -- Unrepentant mosquitoes : a crisis of faiths and the Crusades -- Mosquito hordes : Genghis Khan and the Mongol Empire -- The Columbian exchange : mosquitoes and the global village -- Accidental conquerors : African slavery and the mosquito's annexation of the Americas -- The seasoning : mosquito landscapes, mythology, and the seeds of America -- Rogues in a nation : the mosquito and the creation of Greater Britain -- The crucible of disease : colonial wars and a new world order -- Unalienable bites : the American Revolution -- Mercenary mosquitoes : wars of liberation and the making of the Americas -- Mosquitoes of Manifest Destiny : cotton, slavery, Mexico, and the American South -- Sinister angels of our nature : the American Civil War -- Unmasking the mosquito : disease and imperialism -- This is Ann : she's dying to meet you : the Second World War, Dr. Seuss, and DDT -- Silent springs and superbugs : the mosquito renaissance -- The modern mosquito and her diseases : at the gates of extinction -- Conclusion
