I just finished reading "The Ghost Map" by Steven Johnson.
It is a non-fiction book about an apparently dry topic... The scourge of Cholera in 1850's London.
In talking about his subject, the author brings in quite a lot of other interesting material. Among other things, it gives a person quite a lot of perspective about period dramas that show people going around London, Sometimes they do try to portray the Dickensian poverty. Bit there is no way to adequately conceive the filth and stanch of cities before there were systems of public sanitation.
In covering all of this, the author also makes the point of the importance of cities in promoting what we consider to be "progress"... And also he indirectly shows the results of today's presumed nirvana of having the smallest possible government with mostly only individual responsibility. When the government had no role in "waste" collection, people literally filled their basements with excrement, or threw it out the window. In a city of 2 million people, this got to be a very stinky situation.
Another fascinating detail was that people of the time were convinced that disease came from foul air. And they continued to believe this despite various logical reasons why it was unlikely... ie there were people who worked in sewers and carting away filth who were generally extremely healthy.
Anyway, I highly recommend the book. I probably would not have gone out of my way to get this book on this topic, but my wife got it through a recommendation of a valued friend. And after she finished I picked it up. And it really is a fantastic book.
