So Very Small

Levenson charts the development of the science of microscopy and germ theory from their genesis until the start of the modern pharmaceutical industry. Throughout he demonstrates how powerful a driver curiosity and experimentation were in moving the field forward, but also how it was social forces that ultimately drove the adoption or acceptance of these discoveries - sometimes decades afterwards. It also shows how radically the world has shifted in just the last century around our relative mastery over ailments that were literally the plague of humanity from time immemorial, and how perilous it is for us to forget that. Highly recommend