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"The explorer is the poet of action and exploring is the poetry of deeds."
--VILHJALMUR STEFANSSON
As you may know, malaria is a parasitic infection that kills up to an estimated three million people annually. The disease has demonstrated an amazing ability to mutate, and no true cure has yet been discovered. Beginning in the late 17th century, rumors began to circulate about a cure made from the bark of the elusive cinchona tree, native only to the Andes Mountains. In the late 19th century a trio of British explorers, Richard Spruce, Charles Ledger, and Sir Clement Markham, made numerous expeditions to South America in a quest to find the cinchona, the source of quinine, and bring their discovery to the world. Interestingly enough, Markham was a British naval officer who wrote a history of the Inca, became President of the Royal Geographic Society, and sponsored Robert Falcon Scott's expeditions to Antarctica.
Honigsbaum has followed the trail of these men, and will bring us on a 360 degree voyage, spanning past and present, recounting their trials and tribulations at the time as well as his own in following their footsteps. We will learn about the toll malaria exacts on the body, insights into his forerunners' expeditions, the disease's history and how it influenced warfare, and recent vaccine development efforts. This is an opportunity to learn everything you ever wanted to know about this infamous affliction.