- Hardcover: 176 pages
- Publisher: Clarion Books; None edition (May 26 2003)
- Language: English
- ISBN-10: 0395776082
- ISBN-13: 978-0395776087
- Product Dimensions: 24.8 x 18.5 x 1.8 cm
- Shipping Weight: 680 g
- Average Customer Review: 4.7 out of 5 stars See all reviews (6 customer reviews)
- Amazon Bestsellers Rank: #483,207 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)
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Product Details |
Product Description
From School Library Journal
Grade 6-10-If surviving the first 20 years of a new nationhood weren't challenge enough, the yellow fever epidemic of 1793, centering in Philadelphia, was a crisis of monumental proportions. Murphy chronicles this frightening time with solid research and a flair for weaving facts into fascinating stories, beginning with the fever's emergence on August 3, when a young French sailor died in Richard Denny's boardinghouse on North Water Street. As church bells rang more and more often, it became horrifyingly clear that the de facto capital was being ravaged by an unknown killer. Largely unsung heroes emerged, most notably the Free African Society, whose members were mistakenly assumed to be immune and volunteered en masse to perform nursing and custodial care for the dying. Black-and-white reproductions of period art, coupled with chapter headings that face full-page copies of newspaper articles of the time, help bring this dreadful episode to life. An afterword explains the yellow fever phenomenon, its causes, and contemporary outbreaks, and source notes are extensive and interesting. Pair this work with Laurie Halse Anderson's wonderful novel Fever 1793 (S & S, 2000) and you'll have students hooked on history.
Mary R. Hofmann, Rivera Middle School, Merced, CA
Copyright 2003 Reed Business Information, Inc.
Mary R. Hofmann, Rivera Middle School, Merced, CA
Copyright 2003 Reed Business Information, Inc.
From Booklist
Gr. 6-12. History, science, politics, and public health come together in this dramatic account of the disastrous yellow fever epidemic that hit the nation's capital more than 200 years ago. Drawing on firsthand accounts, medical and non-medical, Murphy re-creates the fear and panic in the infected city, the social conditions that caused the disease to spread, and the arguments about causes and cures. With archival prints, photos, contemporary newspaper facsimiles that include lists of the dead, and full, chatty source notes, he tells of those who fled and those who stayed--among them, the heroic group of free blacks who nursed the ill and were later vilified for their work. Some readers may skip the daily details of life in eighteenth-century Philadelphia; in fact, the most interesting chapters discuss what is now known of the tiny fever-carrying mosquito and the problems created by over-zealous use of pesticides. The current struggle to contain the SARS epidemic brings the "unshakeable unease" chillingly close. Hazel Rochman
Copyright © American Library Association. All rights reserved
Copyright © American Library Association. All rights reserved
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Most helpful customer reviews
5.0 out of 5 stars
Superb,
By
This review is from: An American Plague: The True and Terrifying Story of the Yellow Fever Epidemic of 1793 (Hardcover)
Finally, a great nonfiction book written for children. It keeps ones interest all the way through, and is a great companion with "Fever 1793."
5.0 out of 5 stars
An Intense and interesting read,
By A Customer
This review is from: An American Plague: The True and Terrifying Story of the Yellow Fever Epidemic of 1793 (Hardcover)
Jim Murphy amazes, educates and horrifies with his wonderful Siebert Award winning and Newberry Honor Book, AN AMERICAN PLAGUE. Murphy deftly describes the political, social, medical and economic conditions that allowed the yellow fever epidemic to devastate Philadelphia in the 1790s in a way that is truly terrifying but nonetheless intriguing.I couldn't put it down.
5.0 out of 5 stars
Shining example of nonfiction for young people,
By A Customer
This review is from: An American Plague: The True and Terrifying Story of the Yellow Fever Epidemic of 1793 (Hardcover)
Jim Murphy's award winning book is a wonderful example of literary nonfiction for young people that's every bit as compelling and well-researched as that for adults. Other recent noteworthy books are Candace Fleming's innovative Ben Franklin's Almanac, Russell Freedman's In Defense of Liberty, and Deborah Hopkinson's fascinating book on immigrants in New York City, SHUTTING OUT THE SKY.
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