The Mosquito Crusades : : A History of the American Anti-Mosquito Movement from the Reed Commission to the First Earth Day / / Gordon Patterson.

• Superior document: Title is part of eBook package: De Gruyter Rutgers University Press Backlist eBook-Package 2000-2013
• VerfasserIn: Patterson, Gordon,
• Place / Publishing House: New Brunswick, NJ : : Rutgers University Press, , [2009]; ©2009
• Year of Publication: 2009
• Language: English
• Series: Studies in Modern Science, Technology, and the Environment
• Physical Description: 1 online resource (288 p.) :; 11

Among the struggles of the twentieth century, the one between humans and mosquitoes may have been the most vexing, as demonstrated by the long battle to control these bloodsucking pests. As vectors of diseases such as malaria, yellow fever, encephalitis, and dengue fever, mosquitoes forced open a new chapter in the history of medical entomology. Based on extensive use of primary sources, The Mosquito Crusades traces this saga and the parallel efforts of civic groups in New Jersey's Meadowlands and along San Francisco Bay's east side to manage the dangerous mosquito population. Providing readers with a fascinating exploration of the relationship between science, technology, and public policy, Gordon Patterson's narrative begins in New Jersey with John B. Smith's effort to develop a comprehensive plan and solution for mosquito control, one that would serve as a national model. From the Reed Commission's 1900 yellow fever experiment to the first Earth Day seventy years later, Patterson provides an eye-opening account of the crusade to curtail the deadly mosquito population.

Table of Contents

Frontmatter -- Contents -- Illustrations -- Acknowledgments -- Introduction. The Guardians of Paradise -- Chapter 1. Waging War on the Insect Menace -- Chapter 2. The Garden State Takes the Lead -- Chapter 3. A Continental Crusade -- Chapter 4. Public Health, Race, and Mosquitoes -- Chapter 5. Widening the Campaign -- Chapter 6. Advances and Retreats during the Great Depression -- Chapter 7. Weapons of Mass Destruction -- Chapter 8. The Postwar Era -- Chapter 9. Discontent and Resistance -- Epilogue. The End of the Crusade -- Notes -- Index -- About the Author