What were the principal causes of death in the past? Could your ancestor have been affected? How was disease investigated and treated and what did our ancestors think about the illnesses and the accidents that might befall them? Simon Wills fascinating survey of the diseases that had an impact on their lives seeks to answer these questions. His graphic, detailed account offers an unusual and informative view of the threats that our ancestors lived with and died of. He describes the common causes of death - cancer, cholera, dysentery, influenza, malaria, scurvy, smallpox, stroke, tuberculosis,...

Tells the history of familiar trees, from ancient times to the present day.