The origins of Nazi genocide: from euthanasia to the final solution

"malaria as a disease" in the pre-DDT era must not be forgotten, for, as he states, "it is of great importance to keep alive the excitement of the malaria story, an aim to which this publication is dedicated". The author successfully meets this aim. The design of the book itself is simple and attractive and immediately offers both the specialist and non-specialist reader a fascinating insight into the debates as well as the problems and politics that have thwarted attempts over the centuries to eradicate and control malaria. The book is divided into three parts: 'The yesterday of malaria', 'The today of malaria', and 'The tomorrow of malaria'. In the historical part, the ancient history of the disease receives a brief mention and it is the history of its control in different parts of the world during the twentieth century, following the discoveries by Charles Louis Alphonse Laveran, Patrick Manson, Ronald Ross, Giovanni Grassi and others of the plasmodium parasites and the mosquito cycle, that dominates this section. Litsios's fascinating accounts of the researches, ideas, disputes and frustrations of five key malariologists, Paul Russell, Louis Hackett, C Percy James, Sir Malcolm Watson and Nicholas Swellengrebel, are especially illuminating. The second section explores the DDT era of malaria control and eradication. Revealing comments are taken from official reports as well as from the unpublished diaries of a number of leading players in the main malaria conferences and debates, allowing the reader to be drawn into the realities and complexities of malaria control efforts in the 1950s and 1960s. The final part of the book offers a valuable opportunity to understand how and why global politics have shaped the present and future malaria situation. It also includes a short discussion of the various strategies and scientific tools which are currently being adopted or developed in the hope of controlling the global threat of malaria. The book ends on a note of caution. Malaria is interwoven into the fabric of life in a complex way and, as Litsios demonstrates, there will be no easy answers to solving the very critical issue of the "tomorrow of malaria". The book is published at a time when we shall shortly be "celebrating" the centenary of the discovery of the mosquito transmission of malaria and the golden jubilee of the World Health Organisation's attempts at global eradication of the disease. It is a timely reminder that, in spite of important scientific discoveries and global campaigns, human endeavours have not solved the tomorrow of malaria. This is an excellent introductory text and highly recommended for all those who are concerned with the past, present and future of malaria and its wider implications.