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Deadly Feasts (Abridged): Tracking the Secrets of a Terrifying New Plague Audiobook
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(3.06) - 549 listener ratings
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Publisher Description
In this brilliant and gripping medical detective story, Richard Rhodes follows virus hunters on three continents as they track the emergence of a deadly new brain disease that first killed cannibals in New Guinea, then cattle and young people in Britain and France -- and that has already been traced to food animals in the United States.
In a new afterword for the paperback, Rhodes reports the latest US and worldwide developments of a burgeoning global threat.
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"If you're interested in reading a science-y book I can't recommend this highly enough. It's interesting, it's accessible, and Richard Rhodes did really a wonderful job laying out the history of prion research and the whole "mad cow" thing in the UK. I may be a bit biased because I work on prions in the lab, but I really think just about anyone could enjoy this book, its written that well."
— Jennifer (5 out of 5 stars)
Quotes
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“In the science literature of Armageddon, Deadly Feasts is in a class by itself...Rhodes is able to make hard science come alive.”
— Chicago Tribune -
“[Rhodes] is a wonderful storyteller. Deadly Feasts is a great mystery story.”
— St. Louis Post-Dispatch -
“Deadly Feasts is a book to be read and pondered carefully—and perhaps acted on—possibly before eating one’s next hamburger.”
— New Yorker -
“Vivid and engrossing.”
— San Jose Mercury News -
“Deadly Feasts is a breezy, immensely readable account...It is a splended description of the process by which scientific knowledge is advanced.”
— Weekly Standard -
“Deadly Feasts is packed with historical, anthropological, and epidemiological detail.
— Amazon.com editorial review -
“Rhodes’ soft narration brings to life the discovery and investigation of the disease among cannibal tribes in New Guinea and its eradication when they stopped eating humans...Rhodes reads the various reports of scientists in a slightly louder voice, conveying the excitement of discovery...[and] the terrifying physical manifestations of this deadly disease.”
— AudioFile -
“Rhodes offers the first popular documentation of a disaster with profound implications, and the sooner the alarming facts are widely known, the better our chances are of combating this insidious plague.”
— Booklist -
“This gripping study of ‘mad cow disease’ by Rhodes weaves careful research and powerful stories into a chilling narrative that often reads more like science fiction.”
— Kirkus Reviews
Deadly Feasts Listener Reviews
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" I thought this book was absolutely intriguing! One of the best books I've ever read. "
— Theresa, 2/1/2014 -
" Robin Cook, move over. If you like real-life medical thrillers that take you from the rainforests of Indonesia to the sheep farms of Yorkshire, this book will scare the $h!t out of you. And possibly make you pursue a more vegetarian lifestyle. 'Cause it doesn't get much more frightening than species-jumping prion diseases, which essentially turn the brain into Swiss cheese. "
— Lynne, 1/31/2014 -
" I loved this book. Very eye opening! "
— Jeanettedianne, 1/27/2014 -
" Prions are scary. Nuff said. "
— Michael, 1/26/2014 -
" Wow. What we don't know about life and what we eat. Amazing book. "
— Barbara, 1/19/2014 -
" I listened to this on cassett...if you can get through the first 15 minutes without throwing up, you have it made. Totally true and very interesting, medically sound. Not for the tender hearted, great if you like research. Would make a great horror film. "
— Shirley, 12/25/2013 -
" This is a very readable, morbidly fascinating nonfiction about the origins, history and particulars of Mad Cow Disease. "
— Sheri, 10/27/2013 -
" Mad Cow Disease (BSE) and Kuru (CJD). Excellent read. "
— Jeff, 9/15/2013 -
" Interesting and intriguing. Riveting in how it "jumps species" and the same plague has different names in different creatures but all to the same deadly effect. (Cannibalism is probably not the best idea for healthly living. "
— katherine, 6/28/2013 -
" Watch out for the prions!!!!! And don't eat human brains. Find out what happens when you do. "
— Paulamoney, 6/13/2013 -
" I stopped eating beef after reading this! Its technical in places, but worth the read. The audiobook is read by the author and, though abridged, leaves out little of the content of the book. "
— Krista, 4/11/2013 -
" A bit on the alarmist side, but a good read with lots of great information on the inner workings of big-time science and the discovery of an all-new type of communicable disease. "
— Eric, 3/20/2013 -
" This is a fascinating book. You might not think mad cow disease is a promising topic, but Rhodes tells a terrific story. "
— David, 1/28/2013 -
" I didn't buy the whole epidemic thing. It was a little too dramatic and improbable, but none the less exciting--I still eat beef. "
— Clark, 3/20/2012 -
" Terrifying indeed. After I finished reading this book I stopped eating meat for a little while because I was convinced that I probably already had contracted Mad-Cow. "
— Dara, 2/13/2012 -
" A phenomenal read especially for someone interested in the sciences. Even so, I highly recommend this book for anyone (its not too science term heavy and does a great job of explaining things). "
— Rebecca, 6/4/2011 -
" What can I say...I'm a sucker for a good bit of sensationalist end-of-the-world-is-nigh breed popular science. "
— Emily, 4/21/2011 -
" Wow. What we don't know about life and what we eat. Amazing book. "
— Barbara, 12/25/2010 -
" believable. informative. read it a while back. <br/>worth reading !! "
— Shane, 4/2/2010 -
" A wonderful book about Mad Cow disease - where it comes from, and how it has spread. I sure wish I had read this before living in the UK during the mad-cow outbreaks on the late 80's... If you enjoy science or medical writing - this book is for you. "
— Phil, 3/29/2010 -
" I loved this book. Very eye opening! "
— Jeanettedianne, 3/17/2010 -
" I listened to this on cassett...if you can get through the first 15 minutes without throwing up, you have it made. Totally true and very interesting, medically sound. Not for the tender hearted, great if you like research. Would make a great horror film. "
— Shirley, 7/14/2009 -
" If you need another book about our food supply to keep you up at night, this medical mystery into the links between mad-cow and other brain-eating diseases is for you. "
— Kikidee, 5/4/2009 -
" I thought this book was absolutely intriguing! One of the best books I've ever read. "
— Theresa, 1/31/2009 -
" This is a very readable, morbidly fascinating nonfiction about the origins, history and particulars of Mad Cow Disease. "
— Sheri, 1/23/2008 -
" A good look at BSE and related diseases. Some scary stuff. Like catching something from your leather wallet. "
— Ann, 12/26/2007 -
" I didn't buy the whole epidemic thing. It was a little too dramatic and improbable, but none the less exciting--I still eat beef. "
— Clark, 9/14/2007
About Richard Rhodes
Richard Rhodes is the author of twenty-six books including The Making of the Atomic Bomb, which won the Pulitzer Prize in Nonfiction, the National Book Award, and the National Book Critics Circle Award. He graduated from Yale University and has received fellowships from the Ford Foundation, the National Endowment for the Arts, the John Simon Guggenheim Memorial Foundation, and the Alfred P. Sloan Foundation. He has been a visiting scholar at Harvard, MIT, and Stanford and a host and correspondent for documentaries on American public television.