In this book the renowned pathologist, Roland Sedivy, tells about the nature of illnesses and the amazing as well as at times strange role they have played in the history of mankind. Supported by many illustrations he talks about deadly flu epidemics, the laboratory pestilence in Vienna, about BSE, the racing heartbeat of rock stars, the illness Darwin most likely suffered from, and the Marfan Syndrome of which Ekhnaton may have been a victim. Going by the motto, "Rare is rare but it does happen", he tells us about glass bones, fishskin, about giants and dwarves and about phenomena so rare that they are, to the very day, still being associated with demons and sins – such as Wolfman and brainstem beings. While all those defects and illnesses can be scientifically explained, Sedivy concedes that despite all the progress having been made in medicine, illnesses continue to surface which cannot be rationally explained.

About the author:

University Professor Dr Roland Sedivy was born in Vienna in 1963. He studied medicine and philosophy at the University of Vienna, specialising in pathology and Zytodiagnostics. He is Professor of the Medical Faculty, University of Vienna and head of the Pathology Department of the Danube Private University in Krems. He was awarded with the Vienna Prize for Innovative Interdisciplinarian Cancer Research in 2002.