Table of contents : Preface -- Introduction -- 1. How it all began -- 2. Microbes and our hunter gatherer ancestors -- 3. Microbes exploit the sedentary lifestyle -- 4. Microbes, crowds and poverty -- 5. Microbes go global -- 6. Microbes, famine and starvation -- 7. Science intervenes -- 8. Current problems -- Conclusions -- Glossary -- Index.