The epidemics of disease among native peoples in the Americas following European contact, while devastating, were not exceptional, argues Alchon (history, U. of Delaware). What was exceptional, she contends, was the failure of the indigenous populations to recover. This failure was due to continuing war, slavery, and forced migrations, all of which combined to drastically increase mortality rates, leading to the loss of 75 to 90 percent of these populations. Annotation (c) Book News, Inc., Portland, OR (booknews.com)