Review Non-Fiction--Murphy, Jim--An American Plague

REVIEW: NONFICTION

BIBLIOGRAPHY

Murphy, Jim. 2003. An American Plague. The True and Terrifying Story of the Yellow Fever Epidemic of 1793. New York: Houghton Mifflin Company. ISBN 0395776082

PLOT SUMMARY

In the hot summer of 1793, the city of Philadelphia is struck by a disease called yellow fever that describes the color of the bodies of the patients wrecked with fever. Well-to-do residents escape to the countryside and fresh air. Most of the people, who can not afford to leave, die horrible deaths as they are ravaged by the disease.

Dr. Benjamin Rush finds that administering poison to force the body to evacuate the toxins and bloodletting helps to treat yellow fever patients. He is so aggressive in this therapy that there are not enough containers to accommodate the blood of the patients. The doctor and his numerous assistants start perform bloodletting outside and let the blood run through the streets.

As the dead bodies pile up, most of the city services break down, a few heroes emerge to handle the crisis. These include some members of the black community, two or three doctors, and a handful of civic leaders.

Mathew Carey, a publisher writes a best-selling book on November 13, 1793 in which he criticizes blacks as being vile and taking advantage of the situation to extort money from the sick. The members of the Free African Society, Jones and Allen, are shocked and angered by Carey’s comments and decide to write a book of their own in January 1794 to counter Carey’s accusations.

The final chapter discusses the role of infected mosquitoes in the spreading of the yellow fever and other viruses. There is a special section with sources divided into medical, yellow fever, doctoring in the old days, Philadelphia, George Washington, Blacks in Philadelphia, Mosquitoes, and Plagues.

CRITICAL ANALYSIS

Murphy uses compelling narrative to make history come alive by using firsthand accounts, excerpts from letters, memoirs, journals, diaries, and recollections, of people who were actually there. These voices encourage readers to experience events as if they were actually there. The author displays the best and worst of humanity. He recreates the fear and panic that swept through the city of Philadelphia in 1793.

Murphy uses graphic terms to describe the various stages of the yellow fever disease. “The matter ejected [from the stomach] was of a dark color , resembling coffee grounds, sometime mixed with blood; great flatulency; haemorrhages from different parts of the body; tongue frequently covered over with blood…; urine very offensive”. The book injects first-hand anecdotes to impart information about yellow fever.

“An American Plague” includes social, historical, and political events in the country at that time. One of the political issues discussed is the treatment of blacks during and after the disaster. At the time, there was a mistaken assumption that blacks were immune to yellow fever. The historical anecdote describes how many blacks nursed the dying and were later vilified for their effort. The book also deals with medical beliefs and practices in the 18^th Century.

In addition, the author uses first-hand accounts to describe the Constitutional crisis that President Washington faces when he is forced to leave the city and all the official documents to avoid the deadly disease.

The black and white facsimiles of art, copies of newspaper articles, and the list of the dead people interlaced with facts creates a journal of the yellow fever outbreak from the beginning to the end. The sources at the end of the book result in a factual and credible account of events. The organization of data is clear and sequential.

REVIEW EXCERPT(S)

School Library Journal, 06/01/2003

Gr 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 School Library Journal, A Reed Business Information Publication

BookList, 06/01/2003

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. Booklist, published by the American Library Association.

Publishers Weekly, 03/10/2003

In marked contrast to the clipped, suspenseful pace of his Inside the Alamo (reviewed above), Murphy here adopts a leisurely, lyrical tone to chronicle the invisible spread of the deadly disease that not only crippled Philadelphia (then the temporary capital of the U.S.) but also set off a constitutional crisis. The author evokes the stifling August heat as well as the boiling controversy surrounding President Washington's decision not to support the French in the war against Britain. The residents, so distracted by the controversy, did not take note of the rising numbers of dead animals lying in open "sinks," or sewers; swarms of insects festering, and a growing population of ill citizens climbing until the church bells tolled grim news of death almost constantly. Murphy injects the events with immediacy through his profiles of key players, such as local doctors who engaged in fierce debates as to the cause, treatment and nature of the "unmerciful enemy"—among them the famous Benjamin Rush. The text documents many acts of heroism, including the Free African Society's contributions of food, medicine and home care: the Society was rewarded afterwards only with injustice. Archival photographs and facsimiles of documents bring the story to life, and a list of further reading points those interested in learning more in the right direction. This comprehensive history of the outbreak and its aftermath lays out the disputes within the medical community and, as there is still no cure, offers a cautionary note. Ages 10-14. (Apr.) Publishers Weekly, A Reed Business Information Publication

CONNECTIONS

This is a good informational book for young adults.

Invite children to research other viruses such as SARS, Marburg and Ebola

Encourage children to read other historical books by Jim Murphy.

Other historical books by Jim Murphy:

The Boys’ War: Confederate and Union Soldiers Talk About the Civil War. 0785709509

The Long Road to Gettysburg. 0613300106

A Young Patriot: The American Revolution as experienced by one. 0613376862

Similar books by other Authors:

Fever 1793 by Laurie Halse Anderson. 034085409X

Give me Liberty! The story of the Declaration of Independence by Russell Freedman. 0823414485

The Story of George Washington by Patricia A. Pingry. 0824941888