stevenberlinjohnson.com: The Ghost Map's first review

Publisher's Weekly has generally given me nice reviews over the years, but the review they've just published for The Ghost Map is the best yet -- one of those reviews that hits on all the themes that are important to you as an author. It's also my first "starred" review in PW, so I've got that going for me too:

On August 28, 1854, working-class Londoner Sarah Lewis tossed a bucket of soiled water into the cesspool of her squalid apartment building and triggered the deadliest outbreak of cholera in the city's history. In this tightly written page-turner, Johnson (Everything Bad Is Good for You) uses his considerable skill to craft a story of suffering, perseverance and redemption that echoes to the present day. Describing a city and culture experiencing explosive growth, with its attendant promise and difficulty, Johnson builds the story around physician John Snow. In the face of a horrifying epidemic, Snow (pioneering developer of surgical anesthesia) posited the then radical theory that cholera was spread through contaminated water rather than through miasma, or smells in the air. Against considerable resistance from the medical and bureaucratic establishment, Snow persisted and, with hard work and groundbreaking research, helped to bring about a fundamental change in our understanding of disease and its spread. Johnson weaves in overlapping ideas about the growth of civilization, the organization of cities, and evolution to thrilling effect. From Snow's discovery of patient zero to Johnson's compelling argument for and celebration of cities, this makes for an illuminating and satisfying read.

Woo-hoo!

The Basics

I'm a father of three boys, husband of one wife, and author of seven books, and co-founder of three web sites. We spend most of the year in Marin County, California though I'm on the road a lot giving talks. (You can see the full story here.) Personal correspondence should go to sbeej at earthlink dot net. Media requests should go to Matthew.Venzon at us.penguingroup dot com. If you're interested in having me speak at an event, drop a line to Wesley Neff at the Leigh Bureau (WesN at Leighbureau dot com.)

My Books

Where Good Ideas Come From: The Natural History of Innovation
An exploration of environments that lead to breakthrough innovation, in science, technology, business, and the arts. I conceived it as the closing book in a trilogy on innovative thinking, after Ghost Map and Invention. But in a way, it completes an investigation that runs through all the books. Sold more copies in hardcover than anything else I've written.
The Invention of Air
The story of the British radical chemist Joseph Priestley, who ended up having a Zelig-like role in the American Revolution. My version of a founding fathers book, and a reminder that most of the Enlightenment was driven by open source ideals.
The Ghost Map
The latest: the story of a terrifying outbreak of cholera in 1854 London 1854 that ended up changing the world. An idea book wrapped around a page-turner. I like to think of it as a sequel to Emergence if Emergence had been a disease thriller. You can see a trailer for the book here.
Everything Bad Is Good for You: How Today's Popular Culture Is Actually Making Us Smarter
The title says it all. This one sparked a slightly insane international conversation about the state of pop culture -- and particularly games. There were more than a few dissenters, but the response was more positive than I had expected. And it got me on The Daily Show, which made it all worthwhile.
Mind Wide Open : Your Brain and the Neuroscience of Everyday Life
My first best-seller, and the only book I've written in which I appear as a recurring character, subjecting myself to a battery of humiliating brain scans. The last chapter on Freud and the neuroscientific model of the mind is one of my personal favorites.
Emergence: The Connected Lives of Ants, Brains, Cities, and Software
The story of bottom-up intelligence, from slime mold to Slashdot. Probably the most critically well-received all my books, and the one that has influenced the most eclectic mix of fields: political campaigns, web business models, urban planning, the war on terror.
Interface Culture : How New Technology Transforms the Way We Create and Communicate
My first. The book I wrote instead of finishing my dissertation. Still in print almost a decade later, and still relevant, I think. But I haven't read it in a while, so who knows what's in there!

Comments

Didn't Snow use maps in an original way? Do you republish his graphics in your book?

Posted by: Chris M. | August 24, 2006 at 01:15 PM

You made up the name Sarah Lewis, I hope...

Posted by: Joy | August 25, 2006 at 01:56 PM

Warez, lolitas, porn movies, cracks, trojans http://liveshow.ru

Posted by: Lolita | August 26, 2006 at 05:54 AM

Proofing note: No apostrophe in PW.

Posted by: KaneCitizen | August 26, 2006 at 06:14 AM

Congratulations on a great review. Your book sounds very interesting and I'll be picking up a copy. I'm also recommending it to a few of my Victorianist colleagues.

Posted by: Chris Geyer | August 28, 2006 at 11:56 AM

Nice one.

Just moved to London too - though I have heard the cholera mortality rate has declined since then... Looking forward to reading it.

Posted by: Matt_c | August 29, 2006 at 06:24 AM

See? Some things that are good are good for you! Like that fantastic review. It's got a cover blurb in just about every sentence.

I can't wait to read the book.

Posted by: David Weinberger | September 05, 2006 at 09:25 PM

Congrats on the review - sounds like a fascinating book & I look forward to reading it! Did you know John Snow has a pub in Soho? Perhaps you should check it out next time you're over here: http://www.beerintheevening.com/pubs/s/30/3096/John_Snow/Soho
~ Peter

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Posted by: rev yamato | July 04, 2007 at 08:41 AM