Un libro pionero que muestra
como, durante miles de anos, el mosquito
ha sido la fuerza determinante de nuestro destino.
La guerra contra el
mosquito es la historia de nuestro mundo.
A
traves de los tiempos, desde nuestra evolucion como hominidos en Africa hasta el presente, hemos estado
atrapados en una lucha a vida o muerte
contra el mosquito. Pero en esa guerra por la supervivencia no tuvimos opcion. Gracias a sus adaptaciones
evolutivas, nuestro obstinado y mortal
archienemigo burlo los intentos de exterminarlo y continuo alimentando su reinado del terror, aun
invicto. Transformo impunemente la
historia a traves de numerosas enfermedades, y hoy sigue siendo el mayor
destructor de mundos y el primer y mas distinguido asesino global de la
humanidad.
ENGLISH DESCRIPTION
**The
instant New York Times bestseller**
*An international bestseller*
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.
