Additional resources in the Bowdoin libraries

Textbooks:

T.D. Brock et al. Biology of microorganisms
Chapter 1 has potentially useful sections on cells (what are they and what do they look like?), the connection between DNA, RNA, and protein, and the history of microbiology. Other chapters can serve as good references for microbes and the diseases they cause, as well as illustrating various aspects of immunology.
S.J. Flint et al. Principles of virology : molecular biology, pathogenesis, and control
Want to know what a specific virus looks like and how it operates? It should be in here. In addition, the first chapter has an overview of viruses in general (see particularly pp. 15-17).
G.J. Tortora et al. Microbiology : an introduction
Another microbiology textbook that might come in handy for similar reasons as Brock.

History of Infectious Diseases:

T. Brock, ed. Milestones in microbiology
Brock collected, edited (i.e. shortened), and translated many of the seminal papers in microbiology. This book includes the Koch papers we read, as well as papers by van Leewenhoek, Semmelweis, Pasteur, and Jenner.
W.H. McNeill Plagues and peoples
A classic history of infectious diseases from prehistory to the mid-20th century.
M.B.A. Oldstone Viruses, plagues, and history
In addition to short introductions to virology and immunology, this book contains sections on disease threats of the past (we hope), and "present and future challenges."
C.E. Rosenberg Explaining epidemics and other studies in the history of medicine
Essays about the history of infectious diseases and medicine in the United States.

Other books of interest:

L. Garrett Betrayal of trust: the collapse of global public health
An eye-opening look at the state of public health throughout the world at the end of the 20th century. This book includes chapters on India, Zaire, former Soviet states, and the U.S. and may be a useful resource for final projects.
R.M. Henig A dancing matrix: how science confronts emerging viruses
This book explores a number of emerging viral diseases, including some that are not covered in other books. It also has a good "Virus Primer."
J. Postgate Microbes and man
This book addresses the impact of microbes on the world we live in, including their role in nutrition, pollution, and evolution.
R. Preston The hot zone
A hair-raising account of an Ebola virus outbreak in the United States.
N. Regush The virus within : a coming epidemic
A book about the potential threat of human herpesvirus 6 in the world today.