A National Bestseller, a New York Times Notable Book, and an Entertainment Weekly Best Book of the Year It's the summer of 1854, and London is just emerging as one of the first modern cities in the world. But lacking the infrastructure-garbage removal, clean water, sewers-necessary to support its rapidly expanding population, the city has become the perfect breeding ground for a terrifying disease no one knows how to cure. As the cholera outbreak takes hold, a physician and a local curate are spurred to action-and ultimately solve the most pressing medical riddle of their time. In a triumph of multidisciplinary thinking, Johnson illuminates the intertwined histories of the spread of disease, the rise of cities, and the nature of scientific inquiry, offering both a riveting history and a powerful explanation of how it has shaped the world we live in.

作者：史蒂芬·约翰逊是八本书的作者,涵盖科学 、技术、个人理念各个方面。他同时也是三个有影响力网站的联合创始人：在线杂志网站 FEED,荣获威比奖（Webby Awards）网站Plastic.com,以及超本地（ hyperlocal ）媒体网站 http://outside.in/ 。他是《连线》的编辑,他经常为《纽约时报》《华尔街日报》《金融时报》以及其他杂志撰稿。乔森还为一些互联网相关的企业担任咨询顾问,包括Medium,Atavist,Meetup.com, Betaworks, 与 Patch.com。 他是Where Good Ideas Come From 、The Ghost Map、Future Perfect的作者。

译者：熊亭玉,大学英语讲师。已出版《人类的故事》《奥兹国的滴答人》、《高老头》《神马和男孩》（以上为独译）。《孤独星球·土耳其》《孤独星球·欧洲》、《安徒生童话精选》《东南亚研究》《牛虻》等图书。韩素音翻译大赛英译汉优秀奖获得者。