Human Frontiers Environments and Disease

Charting the relentless trajectory of humankind across time and geography Tony McMichael highlights the changing survival patterns of our ancient ancestors who roamed the African savannahs several million years ago to today''s populous industrialized and globalized world. McMichael explores the changes in human biology culture and surrounding environments that have influenced patterns of health and disease over the course of humankind''s history arguing that the health of populations is primarily a product of the interaction of human societies with the wider environment its various ecosystems and other life-support processes. Tony McMichael is professor of epidemiology London School of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine. He has held positions in Australia USA and UK and has taught widely in Asia Africa and Europe. He has advised WHO UNEP the World Bank and Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change on public health issues. His previous book Planetary Overload (Cambridge University Press 1993) was a widely acclaimed and influential account of global environmental change and the health of the human species.