Publication Day
A History of the World in Six Plagues is out!
I’m excited (and a little terrified) to announce that my book, A History of the World in Six Plagues, is finally here. I wanted to celebrate this with you all. I can’t wait for you to read it. It’s a journey through the intersections of science, power, and culture, exploring how disease shaped — and was shaped by — the world. From ancient pandemics to modern health crises, the stories are complex, messy, and deeply human. If you’re curious about how our struggles for survival have left their marks on society. An excerpt of my book is published in Rolling Stones, which discusses the 2014 Ebola outbreak in West Africa. If you’re interested in learning more about the book, you can listen to my conversation with Eleanor Penny on Novara Media FM or read my interview with Kristen Martin in The Baffler about A History of the World in Six Plagues.
On 5 March, I had a book launch in Miami at Books & Books and was really touched to have family and lifelong friends in the audience. I have three more events in the United States.
16 March 2025 | 4:00-5:30 pm | Philadelphia | Making Worlds Bookstore | Conversation with Kristen Martin
20 March 2025 | 6:30 -7:30 pm | New York City | New York Public Library | Discussion with Linda Villarosa, contributing writer for The New York Times
25 March 2025 | 6:00 - 7:00 pm | New York City | New York Historical Society with Leslie Jamison
If you cannot make it to one of the book events, please consider purchasing my book from your local bookstore. If that’s not possible, then you can buy A History of the World in Six Plagues at one of the following locations:
Although it’s been difficult to balance out writing, pitching, book promotion and childcare, I feel proud of the work that I have done. Moreover, others have recognized the value of my book. I received an early review from Kirkus (12/28). The book has also made several best-of and most-anticipated lists, including Scientific American’s Most Anticipated ‘Microhistories’ of 2025, BookBub’s Best Nonfiction of 2025, Ebony Magazine’s Author’s to Read, Ms. Magazine’s March 2025 Reads Roundup, and a recommendation from LitHub. I am also floored by these glowing reviews by these magazines and fellow writers.
"While the urge to hide under the covers persists, it is time we expand our understanding of major illnesses to prepare for the future and this seems to be the book to do it. Bonhomme seems to cover the hidden and obvious ways these pandemics exacerbated existing social ails, embedded discrimination tactics and long-held biases across these diseases."
-Scientific American
"A fierce polemic arguing that minorities and the poor suffer when diseases rage because governments and the medical profession give them short shrift... Searing."
—Kirkus
"Mixing historical research with thoughtful cultural analysis, Bonhomme’s frank, timely critique of the Western medical field and our faltering health care system reveals how it is deeply entangled with colonialism and capitalism. A History of the World in Six Plagues is about not only stigmatization, confinement and captivity but also survival, resistance and liberation."
BookPage (starred review)
"Pandemics thrive on inequities and widen them, providing more kindling for future plagues. This simple lesson has proven devastatingly difficult to learn. But I think that if everyone read Edna Bonhomme’s incredible, humane, insightful book--and I hope they do--we might stand a chance of actually breaking the cycle of neglect and panic."
—Ed Yong, Pulitzer Prize-winning author of the New York Times bestsellers I Contain Multitudes and An Immense World
"Edna Bonhomme narrates centuries of the human-microbial dance, laying out how our destinies, liberties, and values are determined by how humans negotiate life on earth with our smallest living neighbors. Brilliant, tender and illuminating."
—Steven W. Thrasher, PhD, author of the award-winning book The Viral Underclass: The Human Toll When Inequality and Disease Collide
"This book is a tour de force! A brilliant and beautifully written account of the contours of contagion, health, race, gender, confinement, class, and space across multiple centuries and geohistories. A History of the World in Six Plagues will change how people think about public health and histories of medicine."
—Dr. Tiffany N. Florvil, Associate Professor of History at The University of New Mexico and author of Mobilizing Black Germany
"Equal Parts intimate portrait of illness and piercing analysis of our socio-political predicament. From empires to modern states, no civilization escapes the consequences of a plague. Let this book be a guide for our pandemic past, present, and probable--but by no means inescapable--future."
—George Aumoithe, Assistant Professor of History at Harvard University
"A breathtaking journey through the intertwined histories of contagions and systemic inequities that have shaped our history. Poignantly insightful and compelling, Bonhomme not only sheds light on past injustices but challenges us to confront our history and envision a more compassionate future."
—Uché Blackstock, New York Times bestselling author of Legacy
“This meticulously researched book shows us the ways that contagious illness frustrates humankind's instinct for control, and how people have found ways to care for one another in the worst of circumstances. A powerful book that shines a light on the parts of life we'd rather ignore, and the beauty that can arise from horror."
—Sarah Jaffe, author of From the Ashes: Grief and Revolution
Thank you all for continuing to read and engage with Mobile Fragments by Edna Bonhomme. This post is free, but if you enjoyed reading this, please share this newsletter with your family, friends, and others who want to keep up with my meanderings. Please consider becoming a paid subscriber (only if you’d like). Your support is appreciated, whether you are a paid subscriber or not. I occasionally post on Bluesky, Instagram, and Twitter if you want to hear more from me.
congratulations! huge milestone, I've been keeping an eye out for this since meeting you at UCL a few years ago.. will you be doing a London launch?
Huge congratulations Edna. I can't wait to read it 💕