The Rinderpest Campaigns
The Rinderpest Campaigns
Amanda Kay McVety has written the first history of the international effort to eradicate rinderpest - a devastating cattle disease - which began in the 1940s and ended in 2011. Rinderpest is the only other disease besides smallpox to have been eradicated, but very few people in the United States know about it, because it did not infect humans and never broke out in North America. In other parts of the world, however, rinderpest was a serious economic and social burden and the struggle against it was a critical part of the effort to fight poverty and hunger globally. McVety follows the deployment of rinderpest vaccines around the globe, exploring the role of the environment in the understanding of development, internationalism, and national security. She expands the standard Cold War narratives to show how these concepts were framed not only by economic and political concerns, but also by biological ones.
- Reminds readers of the importance of environmental factors in the creation of economic and political institutions
- Demonstrates the role that animals played in the creation of the idea of a 'common humanity'
- Moves the conversation about the history of development out of the typical Cold War framework
Reviews & endorsements
'In her innovative, engaging, and deeply-researched book, Amanda Kay McVety brilliantly recounts the history of Rinderpest and the international struggle to contain it. Putting biology and the environment at the center of postwar history, her book makes a valuable contribution to the study of twentieth-century internationalism(s) and global development.' Julia F. Irwin, University of South Florida, author of Making the World Safe: The American Red Cross and a Nation's Humanitarian Awakening
'A compelling, surprising, and elegantly written account of the disease that drew the world together. You'll never feel safe around cows again.' Daniel Immerwahr, Northwestern University, Illinois,author of Thinking Small: The United States and the Lure of Community Development
'The book incorporates a broad array of primary sources, including archives from multiple countries and interviews with family and colleagues of scientific protagonists … compellingly written …' Susan D. Jones, The Journal of American History
'McVety has a lively style, and her evident enthusiasm for 'the idea of an international community united by shared hopes and fears' is engaging …' John Landers, American Historical Review
'The main strength of the book is the way in which McVety integrates the history of vaccine research with a broader and perceptive critique of the role of non-human actors in this story. In particular, the book provides a valuable insight into the interrelated issues of the development of scientific internationalism and national security …' John Martin, Agricultural History Review
'This is a very timely book, told in a masterful way.' Alain Touwaide, Doody's Reviews
Product details
July 2018Adobe eBook Reader
9781108397247
0 pages
13 b/w illus.
This ISBN is for an eBook version which is distributed on our behalf by a third party.
Table of Contents
- Introduction
- 1. Rinderpest and the origins of international vooperation for disease control
- 2. GIR-1: rinderpest in World War II
- 3. 'Freedom from want': UNRRA's rinderpest campaigns
- 4. The machinery of development: FAO's rinderpest campaigns
- 5. Back to Grosse ÃŽle: biological warfare in the postwar world
- 6. 'Freedom from rinderpest'
- Conclusion.
