The American Plague

Description

From Publishers Weekly In a summer of panic and death in 1878, more than half the population of Memphis, Tenn., fled the raging yellow fever epidemic, which finally waned when cooler weather set in. The disease had been transmitted by the *Aedes aegypti *mosquito, which came in swarms on ships from the Caribbean or West Africa. This account has a narrower scope than James Dickerson's recent *Yellow Fever*, focusing on the Memphis tragedy, but journalist Crosby offers a forceful narrative of a disease's ravages and the quest to find its cause and cure. Crosby is particularly good at evoking the horrific conditions in Memphis, "a city of corpses" and rife with illness characterized by high fever, black vomit and hemorrhaging, treated by primitive methods. Crosby also relates arresting tales of heroism, such as how two nuns returned to the quarantined city from a vacation to nurse the victims. The author profiles scientists, some of whom died in their fight to identify the cause of this deadly disease. She also describes more recent outbreaks in Africa: yellow fever is making a frightening comeback despite the existence of a vaccine. Photos. *Barnes & Noble Discover New Writers selection. (Nov. 7)* Copyright © Reed Business Information, a division of Reed Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved. About the Author Molly Caldwell Crosby has previously worked for *National Geographic* magazine, and her writing has appeared in *Newsweek*, *Health*, and *USA Today*, among others.