Review of: Rabid: A Cultural History of the World’s Most Diabolical Virus

Review of: Rabid: A Cultural History of the World’s Most Diabolical Virus; Bill Wasik and Monica Murphy; (2012). Viking Press, New York, NY. 240 pages. The fear of rabies lurks deep in the world’s collective consciousness. In their book, Rabid: A Cultural History of the World’s Most Diabolical Virus, Bill Wasik and Monica Murphy describe the cultural impact of this rare but viscerally terrifying viral infection. This book spans both millennia and the globe with descriptions of Greek myths with rabid overtones and the rabies outbreak in New York’s Central Park in 2009. Throughout the book, the authors emphasize both notable rabies cases throughout history and the impact of the disease on shaping our language, religion, literature, cinema, and the science of microbiology