In 'The Mosquito,' Humans Face A Predator More Deadly Than The Rest

Timothy C. Winegard's The Mosquito is as wildly entertaining as any epic narrative out there. It's also all true.

The book starts with a couple of revelations: Mosquitoes played a role in the extinction of dinosaurs — and the diseases they carry have been around for so long and with such force that they have managed to alter human DNA. But that's just the start. According to Winegard, the mosquito "has ruled the earth for 190 million years and has killed with unremitting potency for most of her unrivaled reign of terror." How much killing? He notes an estimate of 52 billion people, which is more than all wars in history combined.