Miriam Gross, Farewell to the God of Plague: Chairman Mao's Campaign to Deworm China Oakland: University of California, 2016. 357 pp.$70.00.

摘要

Villagers picking up snails with chopsticks, unruly wards where patients drank and gambled, temples repurposed as hospitals: these are the details, borne of meticulous archival research, that make Miriam Gross's work Farewell to the God of Plague not only a substantial contribution to modern Chinese history but also a genuine pleasure to read. This groundbreaking history of antischistosomiasis campaigns in the People's Republic of China from the 1950s to the 1970s is a must-read for students of governance and mass campaigns during the Maoist period, as well as anyone interested in the history of public health in China and other rural settings. Schistosomiasis, or snail fever, a parasitic disease carried by snails, was a major problem for public health in rural China during the twentieth century.