Book excerpt: This volume explores the history of epidemiology from the mid-twentieth century to the present. Epidemiology has exerted major influence on the way that both infectious and chronic diseases are conceptualized and controlled, and, more generally, on the way that people in modern societies think about health, behavior, longevity, and risk. This collection consists of a series of in-depth analyses of the roots, development, and impact of epidemiological research, illuminating the complex relationship between medical research and data on the one hand, and social and cultural factors on the other. The thematical and geographical scope of the book ranges from indigenous and participant perspectives to the visualization of pandemics, and from Circumpolar North to East Africa. The book identifies significant historical changes and the driving forces behind them, charting forms of science-society interaction that characterize modern epidemiology. Chapter 1 and chapter 4 are available open access under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License via link.springer.com.