The Life That Lives on Man

by Michael L. A. Andrews
Published by Faber and Faber, London. 183 pp. 1976.

This popular work has been preceded by a number of authoritative human ectoparasite studies some of which are now classics of the scientific literature. Along with these, more general works have appeared — Zinsser's Rats, Lice and History and Rosebury's Life on Man are two well known examples. The book now being reviewed is the latest of this type, which provides a scientific account of the human ectoparasitic fauna and flora in layman's terms, liberally laced with historical facts and anecdotes. Andrews' book arose out of the popularity of a BBC-TV film on the subject, a not unusual event these days where the preceding film tests the depth of public interest and at the same time alerts it, thus assuring a market — even for books on ectoparasites. The present book differs from its predecessors in two significant ways, first there is a good variety of illustrations, secondly the book attempts to cover all the major ectoparasitic groups including bacteria, viruses and some fungi. Bearing in mind the scope of the work and the history of the subject, it was inevitable that there would be some clutter, as 20th century therapy jostles with 18th century anecdote. Most of this would have been acceptable were it not for the parsimony of the publishers who have shoe-horned illustrations and text into pages of woefully small size and with mean margins. The lively text and relevant illustrations, that range from 15th century engravings to recent scanning electron microphotographs, deserve a better home than this.

These criticisms aside, it can be said that the author has produced a book that is every bit as interesting and stimulating as the film that page 90 preceded it. Scientific accuracy has not suffered in the translation to a more popular presentation, and while the purist might cavill at the fragmentation of things such as life history descriptions, this is not a text book, nor was it meant to be. The treatment of the various parasitic groups is not very even however, and mycologists will be disappointed in the chapter on fungi. Nevertheless it will appeal to a wide readership — even to those who have a professional training or interest in the field. For such people an index would have been really useful and, unlike the business of citing formal references, would not have diminished readability.

The book may have a further value in that the treatment and control of some human ectoparasitic diseases have been dogged by superstitution and ignorance — even today, outdated and misheld beliefs are commonplace wherever these diseases are present or are discussed. By reaching out to a wider audience, books such as the present one, which can both entertain and educate, should do much to enlighten us.