Amid all the hype about AIDS, we forget that mosquito-borne malaria has killed the most people and continues to kill. Other deadly diseases carried by mosquitoes take their toll. such as yellow fever and dengue fever (or "breakbone" fever -- you might live but you're not sure you want to).

Spielman is a world authority on mosquitoes and delivers scientific knowledge in a clear and accessible way.

Faber and Faber, London, 2001; ISBN 0-571-20980-7, hardcover. First U.K. edition.

I bought this at the Danforth Avenue Book City book store, for $9, less than the going price of a pocket book. See Robert Fulford's column about Book City.