The Ghost Map

“Fascinating.” —The New York Times Book Review

“Thrilling.” —GQ

“Vivid.” —The New Yorker

“Thought-provoking.” —Entertainment Weekly

“By turns a medical thriller, detective story, and paean to city life, Johnson’s account of the outbreak and its modern implications is a true page-turner.” —The Washington Post

“Marvelous… as was Dava Sobel’s Longitude. Yet The Ghost Map is a far more ambitious and compelling work… Mr. Johnson is never less than lively and beguiling.” —The Wall Street Journal

“Steven Johnson tells the tale with verve, spicing his narrative with scenes of Dickensian squalor and the vibrant street life surrounding that squalor. But in Johnson’s hands, The Ghost Map morphs into something more than mere history.” —The San Diego Union-Tribune

“Johnson adds a new and welcome element—old-fashioned storytelling flair… to his fractal, multifaceted method of unraveling the scientific mysteries of everyday life.” —Los Angeles Times Book Review

“Steven Johnson gives us history at its best: colorful, connected and compelling. At the core is a medical mystery, or what today would be called an epidemiological detective story… A masterpiece of historical writing.” —The Seattle Times

“This is more than a great detective story. It’s the triumph of reason and evidence over superstition and theory, and Johnson tells it in loving detail.” —Chicago Tribune