Non Fiction - AMERICAN PLAGUE

Bibliography
Murphy, Jim. 2003. AN AMERICAN PLAGUE. Recorded Books. New York,
New York. ISBN 1402587449

Plot Summary
AN AMERICAN PLAGUE is the account of the yellow fever that spread throughout Philadelphia. The year was 1793 and the cause of the yellow fever was unknown. This is a horrific account of the life that the people of Philadelphia encountered as the plague swept through their town and changed the city forever.

Critical Analysis
This audiobook was hard for me. The reader almost had a frantic tone to his reading even at points when frantic is not the emotion the author was trying to portray. The story itself was full of images that were hard to take in. Historically, form what I have found out through research they are accurate portrayals of the yellow fever. This is so foreign to readers now that the images in the book are critical. I think most readers are only going to know how to compare this to West Nile Virus which truly pales in comparison to the panic of the yellow fever. This story truly is frightening and leaves the reader hoping that this part of history never repeats itself.

Review Excerpt(s)
School Library Journal: “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…”
Booklist: “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.”
I was unable to find a review of the audiobook.

Connections
*This book could be coupled with FEVER 1793 to study the yellow fever.
*This book could be used to compare/contrast Yellow Fever with the current West Nile Virus.
Anderson, Laurie Halse. FEVER 1793. ISBN 0689848919
Margulies, Phillip. WEST NILE VIRUS. ISBN 0823942031
Abramovitz, Melissa. WEST NILE VIRUS. ISBN: 1590183436