Multnomah County Library reads The Ghost Map

Multnomah County Library is launching its eighth annual Everybody Reads program, in partnership with the Oregon Museum of Science and Industry.  This year’s book:  The Ghost Map, by Steven Johnson.  From the book’s jacket copy:

It’s the summer of 1854, and London is seized by a violent outbreak of cholera that no one knows how to stop.  As the epidemic spreads, a maverick physician and a local curate are spurred to action, working to solve the most pressing medical riddle of their time.  In a triumph of multidisciplinary thinking, Johnson illuminates the intertwined histories of the spread of disease, the rise of cities, and the nature of scientific inquiry, offering both a thrilling account of the most intense cholera outbreak to strike Victorian London and a powerful explanation of how it has shaped the world we live in.

You can pick up your own free copy of the book at a branch of the library, or borrow one of the library’s many print or electronic copies.  Book discussions start Feb 4 and run thorugh Feb 23, at mutiple locations and times.  (Some groups will have guest scientists.)  And there’s a terrific list of lectures and other events to add to your calendar, too.