The Story
From the infamous Black Death to the 1918 flu to COVID-19, disease outbreaks have always marked human history.
But where they spread, how they spread, and how fast they move have all changed. As humans became more mobile, started trading goods and information across the globe, built bigger cities, increased their greenhouse gas emissions, and had more contact with wildlife and farm animals, disease began to spread easier and faster than ever before. At the same time, humans got better at preventing and combating outbreaks. But no prevention or treatment is perfect for every disease. When new outbreaks occur, people have to work together to figure out what causes the disease, how to prevent its spread, and how to treat it.
In Diseases Without Borders, explore several major diseases that have crossed international borders throughout time, including their causes, symptoms, treatments, and modern status, and what major factors contribute to their spread. Then consider an important question: What can we learn from the past and present to help predict and contain diseases in the future?
Author: Marc Zimmer
Publisher: Twenty-First Century Books (Tm)
Published: 04/07/2026
Pages: 120
Binding Type: Library Binding
Weight: 0.90lbs
Size: 9.10h x 6.00w x 0.60d
ISBN: 9798765648070
Audience: Young Adult
Review Citation(s):
Kirkus Reviews 02/15/2026
School Library Journal 03/01/2026 pg. 93
Booklist 04/01/2026
About the Author
Zimmer, Marc: - Marc Zimmer is the author of several nonfiction young adult books and a professor at Connecticut College, where he teaches chemistry and studies the proteins involved in producing light in jellyfish and fireflies. He received his Ph.D. in chemistry from Worcester Polytechnic Institute and did his post-doc at Yale University. He has published articles on science and medicine for the Los Angeles Times, USA Today and the Huffington Post, among many other publications. He lives in Waterford, Connecticut, with his wife, their two children, and a genetically modified fluorescent mouse named Prometheus.
Description
From the infamous Black Death to the 1918 flu to COVID-19, disease outbreaks have always marked human history.
But where they spread, how they spread, and how fast they move have all changed. As humans became more mobile, started trading goods and information across the globe, built bigger cities, increased their greenhouse gas emissions, and had more contact with wildlife and farm animals, disease began to spread easier and faster than ever before. At the same time, humans got better at preventing and combating outbreaks. But no prevention or treatment is perfect for every disease. When new outbreaks occur, people have to work together to figure out what causes the disease, how to prevent its spread, and how to treat it.
In Diseases Without Borders, explore several major diseases that have crossed international borders throughout time, including their causes, symptoms, treatments, and modern status, and what major factors contribute to their spread. Then consider an important question: What can we learn from the past and present to help predict and contain diseases in the future?
Author: Marc Zimmer
Publisher: Twenty-First Century Books (Tm)
Published: 04/07/2026
Pages: 120
Binding Type: Library Binding
Weight: 0.90lbs
Size: 9.10h x 6.00w x 0.60d
ISBN: 9798765648070
Audience: Young Adult
Review Citation(s):
Kirkus Reviews 02/15/2026
School Library Journal 03/01/2026 pg. 93
Booklist 04/01/2026
About the Author
Zimmer, Marc: - Marc Zimmer is the author of several nonfiction young adult books and a professor at Connecticut College, where he teaches chemistry and studies the proteins involved in producing light in jellyfish and fireflies. He received his Ph.D. in chemistry from Worcester Polytechnic Institute and did his post-doc at Yale University. He has published articles on science and medicine for the Los Angeles Times, USA Today and the Huffington Post, among many other publications. He lives in Waterford, Connecticut, with his wife, their two children, and a genetically modified fluorescent mouse named Prometheus.
