Medicine in Literature
Throughout history, the foundation of society has been altered time and time again by the devastation of disease and the prevailing conditions of medical knowledge. Man's inability to permanently remove himself as a consumable on the display shelves of the food chain has given many writers meat for thought and the foundation for some great works of literature.

The Journal of the Plague Year
Yersinia pestis, the bubonic plague. You have to respect an organism that could so radically redefine the course of European civilization. Empires, fell, economies collapsed, millions perished -- all because of a determined bacterium. For Daniel Defoe, Y. Pestis proved too tempting a character study to ignore.

Set in 1665, Journal of the Plague Year is a fictionalized telling of a summer outbreak of the plague in bustling London. Defoe, considered by many to be one of the first British novelists, managed the difficult task of maintaining the truthful elements of fact and the compelling line of fiction. Though clearly a fictional work, Defoe artfully manages a unique telling of the epidemiology of an outbreak.

Written as a firsthand recounting, Defoe adds a resonance of truth to his novel by imparting statistical information on the spread of the infectious disease. He carefully details the development of the infection, its rapid spread and the subsequent devastation caused by its passing. Throughout the novel, the reader is provided with grisly accounts of the modern medical practices of the times.

Though Defoe has been criticized repeatedly (both by his contemporaries and subsequent generations), for his overly passionate language, The Journal of the Plague Year provides a unique insight into the perception of infectious disease in the 18th century.

Iron Peter
At the close of the 20th century, it would be impossible to discuss infectious disease for any length of time without confronting the AIDS epidemic. Palm device owners have a unique opportunity to read an outstanding work by a contemporary writer who takes a darkly comedic look at the AIDS.