Review of "The Mosquito: A Human History of Our Deadliest Predator" by Timothy C. Winegard

In the book's introduction, author Timothy Winegard observes "We are at war with the mosquito. A swarming and consuming army of 110 trillion enemy mosquitoes patrols every inch of the globe save [a few areas]. The biting female warriors of this droning insect population are armed with at least fifteen lethal and debilitating biological weapons....The mosquito has killed more than any other cause of death in human history....Yet the mosquito does not directly harm anyone. [I have to demur here. There's the very annoying itching!] It is the toxic and highly evolved diseases she transmits that cause an endless barrage of desolation and death."



Winegard goes on to explain that mosquitoes transmit the protozoan disease malaria; the nematode worm disease elephantiasis; the viral diseases dengue fever, yellow fever, Zika; and more. The worst offenders are the Anopheles and Aedes mosquitoes, which are the scourge of humankind.


Dorsal view of the Anopheles mosquito


Head of the Anopheles mosquito


Swarm of mosquitoes

Winegard does describe the life cycle of the malaria parasite, Plasmodium, but the book doesn't focus on biology.



The author is a military historian, and the narrative is essentially a history of the world, concentrating on conflicts, wars, colonization, etc......with a bit about mosquitoes decimating armies; destroying settlements; and so on. Mosquitoes even had a hand in the slave trade, because African people had developed resistance to malaria (in the form of sickle cell anemia), and could be put to work on pineapple plantations, sugar plantations, and cotton plantations without succumbing to malaria. Conversely, White people on plantations died in droves.



To demonstrate the book's focus, here are some chapter headings:

General Anopheles: from Athens to Alexander
Mosquito Legions: The Rise and Fall of the Roman Empire
Unrepentant Mosquitoes: A Crisis of Faiths and the Crusades
Mosquito Hordes: Genghis Khan and the Mongol Empire
The Columbian Exchange: Mosquitoes and the Global Village
The Crucible of Disease: Colonial Wars and a New World Order
Unalienable Bites: The American Revolution
Mercenary Mosquitoes: Wars of Liberation and the Making of the Americas
Mosquitoes of Manifest Destiny: Cotton, Slavery, Mexico, and the American South
This is Ann: She's Dying to Meet You: The Second World War, Dr. Seuss, and DDT.
..... and more.

Winegard's chapter headings are clever and the book is chock full of interesting information about famous historical figures like Alexander the Great - the Macedonian general who first showed his mettle at age 10, by quieting a huge feral horse;



Cyrus the Great - the Persian king who freed the Jews from Babylonia;



Sir Francis Drake - who was dubbed a 'pirate' by the Spanish for raiding their ships;



Christopher Columbus - the Italian explorer who brought deadly diseases to the (so-called) New World;



John Smith - who made up an entire mythology about himself and Pocahontas (contrary to Disney cartoons);



farmers on the English fens - who might have 25 wives, one after another, because pregnant women are especially attractive to mosquitoes, and the women kept dying from malaria;



and much more.

Though the book is instructive, I'm more interested in the biological aspects of mosquitoes than a synopsis of world history. But if you're a history buff, this might be the book for you.

Note: Reading this book reminded me of a personal experience. I was doing field work in Missouri, and recall chasing a mosquito - which seemed to be the size of a hawk - around my motel room with a rolled up magazine. LOL

Rating: 3.5 stars

Review of "The Burial Hour: A Lincoln Rhyme Thriller" by Jeffery Deaver

 

In this 13th book in the 'Lincoln Rhyme' series, the forensic expert and his team investigate crimes in Italy. The book can be read as a standalone, but familiarity with the characters is a plus.

*****

Criminalist Lincoln Rhyme was head of the NYPD's forensic unit until an accident at a crime scene left him a quadriplegic. Rhyme can operate his 'miracle of mobility' wheelchair with his left ring finger, and thanks to advanced medical procedures, can now use his right arm.

Lincoln is the 'Sherlock Holmes' of forensic evidence, and can recreate entire scenarios from trace evidence (For example: The presence of stearic acid and myristic acid - found in shaving cream - tells Lincoln that the perp shaved his head and beard to disguise his appearance.)





Lincoln is now engaged to his forensic partner, NYPD Detective Amelia Sachs, and as the book opens, is contemplating a honeymoon in Greenland.



Rhyme's personal assistant Thom Reston observes Greenland isn't romantic, and suggests Florida or California, but Lincoln resists. It seems a lab in Nuuk is doing important research in horticultural spectrographic analysis, which (apparently) supersedes amour. 😊



Lincoln postpones his holiday musings when NYPD Detective Lon Sellitto requests help with an urgent case. A businessman named Robert Ellis was kidnapped off a Manhattan street, and a small-scale noose made of catgut was left at the kidnap site.



Now a video is streaming online, showing a bound, blindfolded Robert Ellis with a noose tugging his neck upward. The video is accompanied by an eerie soundtrack in which a recording of Ellis gasping is used as the downbeat for 'The Blue Danube' being played on a keyboard. Sachs collects forensic evidence at the kidnap site, and Rhyme uses it to determine where Ellis was taken, but the perpetrator - dubbed 'The Composer' - escapes.



When 'The Composer' is next heard of, he's kidnapped a Libyan immigrant from a refugee camp in Naples, Italy, and repeated the hanging scenario described above. The supervisor in charge of the case is Prosecutor Dante Spiro.....



......and the investigators are Detective Inspector Massimo Rossi of the Police of State and Forestry Officer Ercole Benelli, who happened to be chasing a truffles counterfeiter in the vicinity of the kidnapping.





When Rhymes hears of the Naples' abduction he hightails it to Italy with Amelia Sachs and Thom Reston. Lincoln wants to help catch 'The Composer', but Prosecutor Spiro is hostile to these American interlopers and insists they go home. Then (of course) Lincoln demonstrates his formidable skills with forensic evidence, and the Americans are allowed to stay and assist.



Before long 'The Composer' abducts another refugee, and the investigation goes into high gear. Some of the novel's best scenes occur when Sachs partners up with Forestry Officer Benelli. The twosome race around Naples, get shot at, examine dark dangerous sites, have interesting conversations, etc.



In the meantime, Rhyme gets a request from the American Embassy. It seems an American college student has been accused of rape, and the Embassy wants Lincoln to examine the forensic evidence to determine if the college boy is guilty, or if some other dude did it. Once again, Lincoln uses his uncanny abilities to recreate crimes using trace evidence.



About two-thirds into the book 'The Composer' investigation takes an unexpected turn and strays into the arena of politics and immigration. To me this pivot felt forced and not credible. Regardless, Rhymes and his team carry on to uncover the truth about everything. Then they relax with the Italian police and enjoy grappa, wine, and delicious Italian food.



To top it off, there are warm moments at the end of the book when Lincoln plans a REAL honeymoon for himself and Amelia, in beautiful Italy.





The Neapolitan setting for the book makes an interesting change from New York, and it's instructive to observe the Italian justice system. Author Jeffery Deaver has a knack for creating weird, devious, and frightening protagonists, and 'The Composer' is no exception. I'd recommend the book to readers who enjoy suspense novels, especially Lincoln Rhyme fans.

 Rating: 3.5 stars