Typhoid Mary
Captive to the Public's Health
Judith Walzer Leavitt
- Discover
- the
- forgotten
- story
- of
- Mary
- Mallon—the
- real
- Typhoid
- Mary—in
- this
- humanizing
- portrait
- offering
- a
- window
- into
- the
- ethical
- dilemmas
- of
- public
- health
- policy
- that
- continue
- to
- haunt
- us
- in
- the
- COVID
- era.She
- was
- an
- Irish
- immigrant
- cook.
- Between
- 1900
- and
- 1907,
- she
- infected
- 22
- New
- Yorkers
- with
- typhoid
- fever
- through
- her
- puddings
- and
- cakes;
- one
- of
- them
- died.
- Tracked
- down
- through
- epidemiological
- detective
- work,
- she
- was
- finally
- apprehended
- as
- she
- hid
- behind
- a
- barricade
- of
- trashcans.
- To
- protect
- the
- public's
- health,
- authorities
- isolated
- her
- on
- Manhattan’s
- North
- Brother
- Island,
- where
- she
- died
- some
- 30
- years
- later.This
- book
- tells
- the
- remarkable
- story
- of
- Mary
- Mallon—the
- real
- Typhoid
- Mary.
- Combining
- social
- history
- with
- biography,
- historian
- Judith
- Leavitt
- re-creates
- early
- 20th-century
- New
- York
- City,
- a
- world
- of
- strict
- class
- divisions
- and
- prejudice
- against
- immigrants
- and
- women.
- Leavitt
- engages
- the
- reader
- with
- the
- excitement
- of
- the
- early
- days
- of
- microbiology
- and
- brings
- to
- life
- the
- conflicting
- perspectives
- of
- journalists,
- public
- health
- officials,
- the
- law,
- and
- Mary
- Mallon
- herself.Leavitt’s
- readable
- account
- illuminates
- dilemmas
- that
- continue
- to
- haunt
- us
- in
- the
- age
- of
- COVID-19.
- To
- what
- degree
- are
- we
- willing
- to
- sacrifice
- individual
- liberty
- to
- protect
- the
- public's
- health?
- How
- far
- should
- we
- go?
- For
- anyone
- who
- is
- concerned
- about
- the
- threats
- and
- quandaries
- posed
- by
- new
- epidemics,
- Typhoid
- Mary
- is
- a
- vivid
- reminder
- of
- the
- human
- side
- of
- disease
- and
- disease control.
pro-mbooks3 : libris
