The Mosquito Crusades

Price: $49.95  

Subtitle: A History of the American Anti-Mosquito Movement from the Reed Commission to the First Earth Day
Author: Gordon Patterson
Subject: Environment, Science and Technology
Cloth ISBN: 978-0-8135-4534-9
Pages: 288 pages, 10 illustrations
Publication Date: March 2009
Series: Studies in Modern Science, Technology, and the Environment series

Praise for The Mosquito Crusades

"This is a singularly impressive work that will appeal to a broad audience, including scientists, historians, students, mosquito control experts, and the general public. Patterson weaves a story of scientific, social, political, and economic interest. Meticulously referenced and highly accessible." —Captain Stanton E. Cope, PhD, director, Armed Forces Pest Management Board

"An expertly written story of the origins and development of public mosquito abatement in the United States. I know of no other author having a better understanding of the subject."—Bruce F. Eldridge, professor emeritus of entomology, University of California, Davis

"This is a fascinating, well-informed study of the campaign spanning twentieth century American history to control deadly mosquitos. It has important, thought-provoking ecological lessons."—Thomas William Heyck, professor of history emeritus, Northwestern University

Among the struggles of the twentieth century, the one between humans and mosquitoes may have been the most vexing, as demonstrated by the long battle to control these bloodsucking pests. As vectors of diseases such as malaria, yellow fever, encephalitis, and dengue fever, mosquitoes forced open a new chapter in the history of medical entomology. Based on extensive use of primary sources, The Mosquito Crusades traces this saga and the parallel efforts of civic groups in New Jersey’s Meadowlands and along San Francisco Bay’s east side to manage the dangerous mosquito population.

Providing readers with a fascinating exploration of the relationship between science,
technology, and public policy, Gordon Patterson’s narrative begins in New Jersey with John B. Smith’s effort to develop a comprehensive plan and solution for mosquito control, one that would serve as a national model. From the Reed Commission’s 1900 yellow fever experiment to the first Earth Day seventy years later, Patterson provides an eye-opening account of the crusade to curtail the deadly mosquito population.

Gordon Patterson is a professor of history at the Florida Institute of Technology and author of The Mosquito Wars: A History of Mosquito Control in Florida.