We look forward to seeing you on your next visit to the library. Find a location near you.

The Mosquito: A Human History of Our Deadliest Predator
(Adobe EPUB eBook, Kindle Book, OverDrive Read)

Book Cover
Average Rating
5 star
 
(1)
4 star
 
(3)
3 star
 
(0)
2 star
 
(0)
1 star
 
(0)
Published:
Penguin Publishing Group 2019
Status:
Available from OverDrive
Description
**The instant New York Times bestseller.**
*An international bestseller.*
Finalist for the Lane Anderson Award
Finalist for the RBC Taylor Award
“Hugely impressive, a major work.”—NPR

A pioneering and groundbreaking work of narrative nonfiction that offers a dramatic new perspective on the history of humankind, showing how through millennia, the mosquito has been the single most powerful force in determining humanity’s fate

 
Why was gin and tonic the cocktail of choice for British colonists in India and Africa? What does Starbucks have to thank for its global domination? What has protected the lives of popes for millennia? Why did Scotland surrender its sovereignty to England? What was George Washington's secret weapon during the American Revolution?
The answer to all these questions, and many more, is the mosquito.
 
Across our planet since the dawn of humankind, this nefarious pest, roughly the size and weight of a grape seed, has been at the frontlines of history as the grim reaper, the harvester of human populations, and the ultimate agent of historical change. As the mosquito transformed the landscapes of civilization, humans were unwittingly required to respond to its piercing impact and universal projection of power.
 
The mosquito has determined the fates of empires and nations, razed and crippled economies, and decided the outcome of pivotal wars, killing nearly half of humanity along the way. She (only females bite) has dispatched an estimated 52 billion people from a total of 108 billion throughout our relatively brief existence. As the greatest purveyor of extermination we have ever known, she has played a greater role in shaping our human story than any other living thing with which we share our global village.
 
Imagine for a moment a world without deadly mosquitoes, or any mosquitoes, for that matter? Our history and the world we know, or think we know, would be completely unrecognizable.
 
Driven by surprising insights and fast-paced storytelling, The Mosquito is the extraordinary untold story of the mosquito’s reign through human history and her indelible impact on our modern world order.
Also in This Series
Formats
Adobe EPUB eBook
Works on all eReaders (except Kindles), desktop computers and mobile devices with reading apps installed.
Kindle Book
Works on Kindles and devices with a Kindle app installed.
OverDrive Read
Need Help?
If you are having problem transferring a title to your device, please fill out this support form or visit the library so we can help you to use our eBooks and eAudio Books.
More Like This
Other Editions and Formats
More Copies In LINK+
Loading LINK+ Copies...
More Details
Format:
Adobe EPUB eBook, Kindle Book, OverDrive Read
Street Date:
08/06/2019
Language:
English
ISBN:
9781524743437
ASIN:
B07QQLX11D
Reviews from GoodReads
Loading GoodReads Reviews.
Citations
APA Citation (style guide)

Timothy C. Winegard. (2019). The Mosquito: A Human History of Our Deadliest Predator. Penguin Publishing Group.

Chicago / Turabian - Author Date Citation (style guide)

Timothy C. Winegard. 2019. The Mosquito: A Human History of Our Deadliest Predator. Penguin Publishing Group.

Chicago / Turabian - Humanities Citation (style guide)

Timothy C. Winegard, The Mosquito: A Human History of Our Deadliest Predator. Penguin Publishing Group, 2019.

MLA Citation (style guide)

Timothy C. Winegard. The Mosquito: A Human History of Our Deadliest Predator. Penguin Publishing Group, 2019.

Note! Citation formats are based on standards as of July 2022. Citations contain only title, author, edition, publisher, and year published. Citations should be used as a guideline and should be double checked for accuracy.
Copy Details
LibraryOwnedAvailable
Shared Digital Collection11
Staff View
Grouped Work ID:
c54a2f8f-bcd5-668e-b9b2-00abc527970e
Go To Grouped Work
Needs Update?:
No
Date Added:
Aug 05, 2019 08:41:02
Date Updated:
Dec 06, 2020 02:49:12
Last Metadata Check:
Mar 24, 2024 12:51:41
Last Metadata Change:
Mar 10, 2024 12:53:45
Last Availability Check:
Mar 24, 2024 12:51:44
Last Availability Change:
Jan 14, 2024 12:42:15
Last Grouped Work Modification Time:
Mar 29, 2024 02:17:20

OverDrive Product Record

images
    • cover:
        • href: https://img1.od-cdn.com/ImageType-100/1523-1/{717F2863-287F-4381-A963-27E16C88D76B}Img100.jpg
        • type: image/jpeg
    • thumbnail:
        • href: https://img1.od-cdn.com/ImageType-200/1523-1/{717F2863-287F-4381-A963-27E16C88D76B}Img200.jpg
        • type: image/jpeg
    • cover150Wide:
        • href: https://img1.od-cdn.com/ImageType-150/1523-1/717/F28/63/{717F2863-287F-4381-A963-27E16C88D76B}Img150.jpg
        • type: image/jpeg
    • cover300Wide:
        • href: https://img1.od-cdn.com/ImageType-400/1523-1/717/F28/63/{717F2863-287F-4381-A963-27E16C88D76B}Img400.jpg
        • type: image/jpeg
formats
      • identifiers:
            • type: ISBN
            • value: 9781524743437
      • name: Adobe EPUB eBook
      • id: ebook-epub-adobe
      • identifiers:
            • type: ASIN
            • value: B07QQLX11D
      • name: Kindle Book
      • id: ebook-kindle
      • identifiers:
            • type: ISBN
            • value: 9781524743437
      • name: OverDrive Read
      • id: ebook-overdrive
mediaType
eBook
primaryCreator
    • role: Author
    • name: Timothy C. Winegard
title
The Mosquito
dateAdded
2019-08-05T10:35:00-04:00
contentDetails
      • href: https://link.overdrive.com/?websiteID=141&titleID=4692570
      • type: text/html
      • account:
          • name: Sacramento Public Library (CA)
          • id: 1151
sortTitle
Mosquito A Human History of Our Deadliest Predator
crossRefId
4692570
subtitle
A Human History of Our Deadliest Predator
id
717f2863-287f-4381-a963-27e16c88d76b
starRating
3.1

OverDrive MetaData

isPublicDomain
False
formats
      • fileName: TheMosquito_9781524743437_4692570
      • partCount: 0
      • fileSize: 34336780
      • identifiers:
            • type: ISBN
            • value: 9781524743437
      • rights:
            • type: Copying
            • value: 0
            • type: Printing
            • value: 0
            • type: Lending
            • value: 0
            • type: ReadAloud
            • value: 0
            • type: ExpirationRights
            • value: 0
      • name: Adobe EPUB eBook
      • isReadAlong: False
      • id: ebook-epub-adobe
      • onSaleDate: 8/6/2019
      • samples:
            • source: From the book
            • formatType: ebook-overdrive
            • url: https://samples.overdrive.com/?crid=717f2863-287f-4381-a963-27e16c88d76b&.epub-sample.overdrive.com
      • fileName: TheMosquito_9781524743437_4692570
      • partCount: 0
      • fileSize: 0
      • identifiers:
            • type: ISBN
            • value: 9781524743437
            • type: ASIN
            • value: B07QQLX11D
      • name: Kindle Book
      • isReadAlong: False
      • id: ebook-kindle
      • onSaleDate: 8/6/2019
      • samples:
            • source: From the book
            • formatType: ebook-overdrive
            • url: https://samples.overdrive.com/?crid=717f2863-287f-4381-a963-27e16c88d76b&.epub-sample.overdrive.com
      • fileName: TheMosquito_9781524743437_4692570
      • partCount: 0
      • fileSize: 0
      • identifiers:
            • type: ISBN
            • value: 9781524743437
      • name: OverDrive Read
      • isReadAlong: False
      • id: ebook-overdrive
      • onSaleDate: 8/6/2019
      • samples:
            • source: From the book
            • formatType: ebook-overdrive
            • url: https://samples.overdrive.com/?crid=717f2863-287f-4381-a963-27e16c88d76b&.epub-sample.overdrive.com
keywords
      • value: human biology
      • value: American Revolution
      • value: health
      • value: Nature
      • value: Ancient History
      • value: American Civil War
      • value: Science
      • value: Entomology
      • value: World History
      • value: african american history
      • value: mosquito
      • value: mosquitos
      • value: British History
      • value: Biology
      • value: History
      • value: Christianity
      • value: best sellers
      • value: books for teens
      • value: civil war books
      • value: history books
      • value: books for women
      • value: History book
      • value: history books for adults
      • value: gifts for men
      • value: dad books
      • value: books best sellers
      • value: history books best sellers
      • value: nerd gifts
      • value: dad gifts
      • value: history gifts
      • value: nonfiction best sellers
      • value: science gifts
      • value: history teacher gifts
      • value: mosquito book
creators
      • role: Author
      • fileAs: Winegard, Timothy C.
      • name: Timothy C. Winegard
imprint
Dutton
publishDate
2019-08-06T00:00:00-04:00
isOwnedByCollections
True
title
The Mosquito
fullDescription
**The instant New York Times bestseller.**
*An international bestseller.*
Finalist for the Lane Anderson Award
Finalist for the RBC Taylor Award
“Hugely impressive, a major work.”—NPR

A pioneering and groundbreaking work of narrative nonfiction that offers a dramatic new perspective on the history of humankind, showing how through millennia, the mosquito has been the single most powerful force in determining humanity’s fate

 
Why was gin and tonic the cocktail of choice for British colonists in India and Africa? What does Starbucks have to thank for its global domination? What has protected the lives of popes for millennia? Why did Scotland surrender its sovereignty to England? What was George Washington's secret weapon during the American Revolution?
The answer to all these questions, and many more, is the mosquito.
 
Across our planet since the dawn of humankind, this nefarious pest, roughly the size and weight of a grape seed, has been at the frontlines of history as the grim reaper, the harvester of human populations, and the ultimate agent of historical change. As the mosquito transformed the landscapes of civilization, humans were unwittingly required to respond to its piercing impact and universal projection of power.
 
The mosquito has determined the fates of empires and nations, razed and crippled economies, and decided the outcome of pivotal wars, killing nearly half of humanity along the way. She (only females bite) has dispatched an estimated 52 billion people from a total of 108 billion throughout our relatively brief existence. As the greatest purveyor of extermination we have ever known, she has played a greater role in shaping our human story than any other living thing with which we share our global village.
 
Imagine for a moment a world without deadly mosquitoes, or any mosquitoes, for that matter? Our history and the world we know, or think we know, would be completely unrecognizable.
 
Driven by surprising insights and fast-paced storytelling, The Mosquito is the extraordinary untold story of the mosquito’s reign through human history and her indelible impact on our modern world order.
reviews
      • premium: True
      • source: Publisher's Weekly
      • content:

        June 3, 2019
        Winegard (The First World Oil War), a Colorado Mesa University history and political science professor, delivers an adequate, Western-centric world history focused on the part played by mosquitoes and mosquito-borne disease. He begins by introducing the Anopheles and Aedes species and the yellow fever and variants of malaria that they spread. Winegard then marches forward through history, highlighting events (generally wars) he sees as affected by the insects. When armies suffer enormous casualties due to disease, as they did in ancient Greece or colonial wars in the Caribbean, this connection is obvious and easily acceptable. Other connections are more tenuous, as when Winegard seems to give mosquitoes some credit for the Magna Carta. Further weak points include anthropomorphizing references to the subject which cast mosquitoes as mercenaries, generals, or allies in human conflicts, and occasional indulgence in alliteration (“a marshy morass and a minefield of malarial mosquitoes”). Winegard covers both major points, such as how 18th-century geopolitics were reshaped by the huge losses which malaria and yellow fever inflicted on European troops in the Americas, and trivia, such as Dr. Seuss’s anti-mosquito propaganda for WWII GIs. Despite some flaws, this works as a reasonable general introduction to one miniscule animal’s outsize effect on human history. Agent: Rick Broadhead, Rick Broadhead & Associates.

      • premium: True
      • source: Kirkus
      • content:

        June 15, 2019
        A wandering treatment of one of life's constant annoyances and worse. "We are at war with the mosquito," writes former military officer Winegard (History and Political Science/Colorado Mesa Univ.; The First World Oil War, 2016, etc.). There's reason for that: There are something like 110 trillion mosquitoes floating around humankind's ankles and nostrils at any given moment, and when you count up the death toll from malaria, Zika virus, dengue fever, and the like, mosquitoes are responsible for some 830,000 human deaths per year, logarithmic orders from the 10 or so humans who fall victim to sharks. Indeed, writes the author, doing the math, as many as half of all the humans who have ever lived may have fallen to mosquitoes, especially in the days before we discovered quinine, gin and tonics, and DDT. The case isn't overwrought; yellow fever alone is a cause for much misery in Africa and has otherwise been "a global historical game-changer." Winegard's drawn-out survey of history covers ground that is largely well known, including the role of mosquito-borne illnesses in the American Revolution and Civil War and the long effort, planned under Julius Caesar but not effected until Benito Mussolini's reign, to drain the Pontine Marshes outside Rome. The author does uncover some lesser-known moments, however, such as the malaria research conducted by Chinese scientists during the Vietnam War, and he's good on why some human populations seem more vulnerable to mosquito-borne illnesses than others. Overall, the book is serviceable but less fluent than Sonia Shah's The Fever, David DeKok's The Epidemic, Michael Osterholm and Mark Olshaker's Deadliest Enemy, and other popular accounts of all the malign things that await us out in the open air. And readers could probably have done without the anemic valediction to the fanged female at the close: "My judgment of her now vacillates between that sincere, loathing revulsion and a genuine respect and admiration." An intermittently interesting but overlong book that is not likely to make much of a buzz.

        COPYRIGHT(2019) Kirkus Reviews, ALL RIGHTS RESERVED.

      • premium: True
      • source: Library Journal
      • content:

        June 21, 2019

        The mosquito is humanity's most deadly predator. In 2018, nearly 830,00 people died from mosquito-borne disease. Wars have been lost and campaigns derailed because of malaria, yellow fever, dengue fever and other diseases. Winegard (history, political science, Colorado Mesa Univ; The First World Oil War) doesn't add new insight to this history, but his account makes it accessible for readers of natural history. The narrative addresses the insect's evolution and capabilities, along with its future in the face of present-day genetic research and efforts of organizations such as the Gates Foundation to eradicate malaria. The bulk of the book, however, is little more than a potted summary of world history, with an emphasis on military campaigns, one of Winegard's enthusiasms. Though the work begins and ends well, Winegard repeats the same points often, is prone to digression, and his deployment of footnotes is heavy-handed, sometimes jejune. VERDICT There's room for a popular history on this fascinating topic, but readers should be cautioned that this study is uneven.--David Keymer, Cleveland

        Copyright 2019 Library Journal, LLC Used with permission.

popularity
1122
links
    • self:
        • href: https://api.overdrive.com/v1/collections/v1L1BWwAAAA2I/products/717f2863-287f-4381-a963-27e16c88d76b/metadata
        • type: application/vnd.overdrive.api+json
id
717f2863-287f-4381-a963-27e16c88d76b
starRating
3.2
images
    • cover:
        • href: https://img1.od-cdn.com/ImageType-100/1523-1/{717F2863-287F-4381-A963-27E16C88D76B}Img100.jpg
        • type: image/jpeg
    • thumbnail:
        • href: https://img1.od-cdn.com/ImageType-200/1523-1/{717F2863-287F-4381-A963-27E16C88D76B}Img200.jpg
        • type: image/jpeg
    • cover150Wide:
        • href: https://img1.od-cdn.com/ImageType-150/1523-1/717/F28/63/{717F2863-287F-4381-A963-27E16C88D76B}Img150.jpg
        • type: image/jpeg
    • cover300Wide:
        • href: https://img1.od-cdn.com/ImageType-400/1523-1/717/F28/63/{717F2863-287F-4381-A963-27E16C88D76B}Img400.jpg
        • type: image/jpeg
isPublicPerformanceAllowed
False
languages
      • code: en
      • name: English
subjects
      • value: History
      • value: Medical
      • value: Nature
      • value: Nonfiction
publishDateText
08/06/2019
otherFormatIdentifiers
      • type: ISBN
      • value: 9781524743413
mediaType
eBook
shortDescription
**The instant New York Times bestseller.**
*An international bestseller.*
Finalist for the Lane Anderson Award
Finalist for the RBC Taylor Award
“Hugely impressive, a major work.”—NPR

A pioneering and groundbreaking work of narrative nonfiction that offers a dramatic new perspective on the history of humankind, showing how through millennia, the mosquito has been the single most powerful force in determining humanity’s fate

 
Why was gin and tonic the cocktail of choice for British colonists in India and Africa? What does Starbucks have to thank for its global domination? What has protected the lives of popes for millennia? Why did Scotland surrender its sovereignty to England? What was George Washington's secret weapon during the American Revolution?
The answer to all these questions, and many more, is the mosquito.
 
Across our planet since the dawn of humankind, this nefarious...
sortTitle
Mosquito A Human History of Our Deadliest Predator
crossRefId
4692570
subtitle
A Human History of Our Deadliest Predator
publisher
Penguin Publishing Group
bisacCodes
      • code: HIS037000
      • description: History / World
      • code: MED039000
      • description: Medical / History
      • code: NAT017000
      • description: Nature / Animals / Insects & Spiders