The American Plague
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4.6 • 27 Ratings
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- $11.99
Publisher Description
In this account, a journalist traces the course of the infectious disease known as yellow fever, “vividly [evoking] the Faulkner-meets-Dawn of the Dead horrors” (The New York Times Book Review) of this killer virus.
Over the course of history, yellow fever has paralyzed governments, halted commerce, quarantined cities, moved the U.S. capital, and altered the outcome of wars. During a single summer in Memphis alone, it cost more lives than the Chicago fire, the San Francisco earthquake, and the Johnstown flood combined.
In 1900, the U.S. sent three doctors to Cuba to discover how yellow fever was spread. There, they launched one of history's most controversial human studies. Compelling and terrifying, The American Plague depicts the story of yellow fever and its reign in this country—and in Africa, where even today it strikes thousands every year. With “arresting tales of heroism,” (Publishers Weekly) it is a story as much about the nature of human beings as it is about the nature of disease.
Customer Reviews
The American Plague
Molly Crosby's "The American Plague" is a beautifully written account of the yellow fever epidemic in the US. What I loved most was how she gave the disease a mind of it's own. You very much feel that "Yellow Jack," as the fever was known, was the true enemy of the story always looking for new prey. Kudos to Mrs. Crosby. I am excited to read her next book.