Rabid
A Cultural History of the World’s Most Diabolical Virus
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Rabid
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Narrated by:
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Johnny Heller
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Written by:
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Bill Wasik
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Monica Murphy
About this listen
A maddened creature, frothing at the mouth, lunges at an innocent victim—and with a bite, transforms its prey into another raving monster. It’s a scenario that underlies our darkest tales of supernatural horror, but its power derives from a very real virus, a deadly scourge known to mankind from our earliest days. In this fascinating exploration, journalist Bill Wasik and veterinarian Monica Murphy chart four thousand years in the history, science, and cultural mythology of rabies.
The most fatal virus known to science, rabies kills nearly 100 percent of its victims once the infection takes root in the brain. A disease that spreads avidly from animals to humans, rabies has served as a symbol of savage madness and inhuman possession throughout history. Today, its history can help shed light on the wave of emerging diseases—from AIDS to SARS to avian flu—with origins in animal populations.
From Greek myths to zombie flicks, from the laboratory heroics of Louis Pasteur to the contemporary search for a lifesaving treatment, Rabid is a fresh, fascinating, and often wildly entertaining look at one of mankind’s oldest and most fearsome foes.
Bill Wasik is a senior editor at Wired magazine and was previously a senior editor at Harper’s, where he wrote on culture, media, and politics. He is the editor of the anthology Submersion Journalism and has also written for Oxford American, Slate, Salon, and McSweeney’s.
©2012 Bill Wasik and Monica Murphy (P)2012 Blackstone Audio, Inc.What the critics say
What listeners say about Rabid
Average Customer RatingsReviews - Please select the tabs below to change the source of reviews.
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Overall4 out of 5 stars
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Performance4 out of 5 stars
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Story4 out of 5 stars
- Langer MD
- 2021-12-18
Complete Discussion
The ravages of the Rabies virus are terrifying. In the age of COVID (and the attending effect on our medical systems), it is horrifying to think of a virus that approaches 100% mortality if untreated. Bill Wasik and Monica Murphy put together an engrossing exposé on the topic of this fascinating affliction - discussing the history, clinical presentation, pathophysiology, and treatment of the illness (including vaccination, therapeutic coma, and vector control). but also expounding on the fascinating folklore potentially surrounding the infection (Ancient Greek concepts of 'Lyssa' & Medieval European fears of witchcraft, vampirism, and lycanthropy, for example) and listing literary/popular culture works that have been influenced by the phenomenon of Hydrophobia over the years.
The book is structured logically (each chapter covers a specific aspect of Rabies history), the quasi-authoritative presentation has the feel of a lecture series, and the examples are interesting and punctiliously documented.
Less fortunately, the vocabulary/prose isn't as effective as it could be (occasionally overly-dramatic; occasionally overly-clinical), and there is a noticeable lack of flow to the text.
The narration is similarly of variable quality: Johnny Heller provides impressive diction, timbre, cadence, and tone.. but he reads too slowly (consume this book at 1.15X), his attempted accents are legitimately *terrible*, and some of the mispronunciations (e.g. of "Zoonoses") are downright annoying.
As a medical professional (I am an MD), I found this 8/10 star presentation informative and entertaining. It reminded me of the high quality History Of Medicine papers and textbooks that were required reading in Medical School. The fact that it was offered for free as part of the 'Plus' initiative for Audible subscribers was definitely a selling point for me, but - regardless of your interest (professional, scholarly, or casual) - this audiobook would be worth money if they asked you for it.
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Overall5 out of 5 stars
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Performance5 out of 5 stars
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Story5 out of 5 stars
- daniel h.
- 2023-12-16
historical
a good review of viral rabies , crossed with cult classic history , literacy and old scientific reviews . I feel that it crossed over into other historical psychology. but overall a good read and haunting book
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Overall5 out of 5 stars
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Performance5 out of 5 stars
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Story5 out of 5 stars
- HG
- 2021-11-13
I learned a lot
I learned a lot about rabies, something I never really thought about much before.
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Overall3 out of 5 stars
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Performance3 out of 5 stars
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Story3 out of 5 stars
Exactly what the title suggests, it’s a CULTURAL HISTORY of rabies.
Narration is ok, I paired this book with “Cujo” which I got from my local library, thought it would go well listening to this on the way to work, the reading Cujo on the way home.
Scientifically, it’s shallow, but that’s because it’s not really about a deep dive into the science of what rabies is, but there is some of that, it’s more so a story about the cultural references and stories about rabies and how it was understood through time and then the pathway to vaccination.
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Overall3 out of 5 stars
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Performance3 out of 5 stars
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Story2 out of 5 stars
- Falcolf
- 2023-10-24
Kinda boring
It's an eight hour prattle, mostly about the yopics surrounding rabies rathet than the disease itself.
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Overall5 out of 5 stars
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Performance5 out of 5 stars
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Story5 out of 5 stars
- GDS
- 2020-08-21
Hell of a narrator.
The raspy voice of Johnny heller was beyond phenomenal for this book, I would consider any book he reads even if it may be outside my normal like. He was animated and did a great job.
As a medical professional I was interested in the science, but enjoyed the myth. I did put this away for a couple weeks near chapter 3 or 4 but started listening again and very glad I did. An excellent book I know I will enjoy again.
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1 person found this helpful
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Overall5 out of 5 stars
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Performance5 out of 5 stars
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Story5 out of 5 stars
- Susan Jordan
- 2023-07-07
Absolutely fascinating!
I found this book very informative. I already knew a lot about rabies, but the historical aspects of this ravishing virus and the science behind trying to conquer it was extremely interesting. The later part of the book talks about how our imaginations took the symptoms of this deadly virus to a whole new level. The idea of vampires, werewolves, and, of course, the ever-loving zombies of today, all very likely getting their start from rabies, is fascinating, to say the least.
I found this read so enjoyable that I will definitely listen to it again.
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Overall2 out of 5 stars
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Performance3 out of 5 stars
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Story2 out of 5 stars
- Anonymous User
- 2024-01-08
A bit disappointing…
I found this book covered a lot of rabies-adjacent stuff and not enough rabies. There were interesting bits, but I think a lot of the content could have been condensed into a few chapters in a book that also addressed the science and more recent/ relevant aspects of the disease.
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Overall1 out of 5 stars
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Performance3 out of 5 stars
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Story1 out of 5 stars
- Adam G. M.
- 2023-02-06
nope.
grossly written, focus feels set on shock rather than education
would not recommend at all. give it a pass
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