Rabid charts the history, science, and cultural mythology of rabies, documenting how before its vaccine, the disease caused fatal brain infections and sparked the creations of famous monsters including werewolves, vampires, and zombies. This engrossing, lively history of a fearsome and misunderstood virus binds man and dog.

The most fatal virus known to science, rabies—a disease that spreads avidly from animals to humans—kills nearly one hundred percent of its victims once the infection takes root in the brain. In this critically acclaimed exploration, journalist Bill Wasik and veterinarian Monica Murphy chart four thousand years of the history, science, and cultural mythology of rabies. From Greek myths to zombie flicks, from the laboratory heroics of Louis Pasteur to the contemporary search for a lifesaving treatment, Rabid is a fresh and often wildly entertaining look at one of humankind’s oldest and most fearsome foes.