"A sweeping look at how the major transformations in history--from the rise of Homo sapiens to the birth of capitalism--have been shaped not by humans but by germs. According to the accepted narrative of progress, humans have thrived thanks to their brains and brawn, collectively bending the arc of history. But in this revelatory book, professor Jonathan Kennedy argues that the myth of human exceptionalism overstates the role that we play in social...

When an infected bolt of cloth carries plague from London to an isolated village, a housemaid named Anna Frith emerges as an unlikely heroine and healer. Through Anna's eyes we follow the story of the fateful year of 1666, as she and her fellow villagers confront the spread of disease and superstition. As death reaches into every household and villagers turn from prayers to murderous witch-hunting, Anna must find the strength to confront the disintegration...

"The planet Kerenza is attacked, and Kady and Ezra find themselves on a space fleet fleeing the enemy, while their ship's artificial intelligence system and a deadly plague may be the end of them all"--

Eleven-year-old Gregor and his younger sister, Boots, return to the Underworld beneath New York City to find the cure for a terrible plague that threatens the life of their mother, as well as the lives of the people, bats, and rats who populate the underworld.

With the magical Qirsi people weakened by the decimation of the plague, their unmagical enemies see an opportunity to defeat them and take back lands lost in an ancient war in this exciting sequel to the epic fantasy "The Sorcerers' Plague."

Inspired by the Black Plague that devastated Europe in the mid-1300s, Boccaccio's collection of tales is an enormously influential literary masterpiece with a sly humor and irreverence that will appeal to modern readers. In the hopes of avoiding the plague, a group of ten wealthy young men and women decamp to a country villa on the outskirts of Florence. Once there, they decide to amuse themselves with a storytelling competition of sorts, with

...

"With the world consumed by a devastating plague, what was once a band of desperate survivors bobbing on the Atlantic ocean has now become Wolf Squadron, the only hope for the salvation of the human race. Banding together the remains of the US Navy, Wolf Squadron, and its leader Steve Smith, plans to retake the mainland from the infected, starting with North America. The next step: produce a vaccine. But to do that, forces led by Smith's terrifyingly...

"In a world where people are implanted with technology to recode their DNA, gene-hacking genius Cat must decrypt her late father's message concealing a vaccine to a horrifying plague"--

As plague ravages the overcrowded Earth, observed by a ruthless lunar people, Cinder, a gifted mechanic and cyborg, becomes involved with handsome Prince Kai and must uncover secrets about her past in order to protect the world in this futuristic take on the Cinderella story.