<!doctype html public «-//w3c//dtd html 4.0 transitional//en»> http-equiv=content-type content="text/html; charset=iso-8859–1"> The authors of this volume track the social and cultural history of epidemics in the 20th century from the Spanish flu through syphilis, AIDS, Ebola, SARS, and avian influenza. They investigate social responses to collective dangers and ideas about security, examine treatment and preventive measures, and inquire about the relation between epidemics and social systems in the ‘Age of Extremes.’