Some colds are like mice, timid and annoying; others like dragons, accompanied by body aches and deep misery. In AH-CHOO!, Jennifer Ackerman explains what, exactly, a cold is, how it works, and whether it's really possible to "fight one off." Scientists call this the Golden Age of the Common Cold because Americans suffer up to a billion colds each year, resulting in 40 million days of missed work and school and 100 million doctor visits.

They've also learned over the past decade much more about what cold viruses are, what they do to the human body, and how symptoms can be addressed. In this ode to the odious cold, Ackerman sifts through the chatter about treatments-what works, what doesn't, and what can't hurt. She dispels myths, such as susceptibility to colds reflects a weakened immune system. And she tracks current research, including work at the University of Virginia at Charlottesville, a world-renowned center of cold research studies, where the search for a cure continues.

Author: Jennifer Ackerman
Binding Type: Hardcover
Publisher: Twelve
Published: 09/02/2010
Pages: 256
Weight: 0.82lbs
Size: 8.64h x 5.62w x 0.91d
ISBN: 9780446541152


Award: 2010 Books for a Better Life Finalist - Wellness


Review Citation(s):
Publishers Weekly 07/05/2010 pg. 36
Booklist 08/01/2010 pg. 15
People Weekly 09/13/2010 pg. 71
Booklist Editors Choice/Adult 01/01/2011 pg. 6

About the Author
Jennifer Ackerman is the author of Sex Sleep Eat Drink Dream: A Day in the Life of Your Body. Her previous books include Chance in the House of Fate: A Natural History of Heredity and Notes from the Shore. A contributor to National Geographic, the New York Times, and many other publications, her articles and essays have been included in several anthologies, among them Best American Science Writing, The Nature Reader, and Best Nature Writing. Jennifer lives in Charlottesville, Virginia.