The Smallpox Story - In Words and Pictures by Abbas M. Behbehani, Ph.D. (University of Kansas)

The book recounts one of the major successes of preventative medicine. Among other reasons, this success deserves to be kept before the medical profession in the hope that other infectious diseases without an animal reservoir can ultimately be eliminated. The book is easy to read and profusely illustrated. It begins with a brief description of the early history of smallpox, moves on to a fuller account of variolation and its introduction to Europe and North America, and follows that by a more thorough review of the introduction of vaccination. He gives proper credit to Edward Jenner's contribution, but other early types of vaccination, such as that discovered by Benjamin Jesty, are also discussed. The most extended section deals with the Global Commission for the Certification of Smallpox Eradication Program of the World Health Organization (WHO) and with poxvirus diseases. This is an enjoyable book that contains lots of interesting information.