Avoid Meeting Typhoid Mary

This title explores the life and times of Typhoid Mary. Read about her early beginnings as a young girl travelling alone from Ireland to New York, her time on an island in a hospital being used to test all kinds of drugs, and how she passed typhoid fever from one person to another.

In the 21st century, typhoid fever afflicts more than 21 million people each year, primarily in underdeveloped countries. In the age before sanitation and antibiotics, the infection was even more devastating, crippling entire armies and claiming the lives of both rich and poor. The story of typhoid is in many ways the story of modern medicine itself, with early efforts at treatment and prevention paving the way for our understanding of infectious disease in general. Many sought to understand and control the disease, including Robert Koch and Walter Reed. There were unsung heroes as well: Pierre Louis and William Gerhard, among the first to identify the disease's unique nature; William Budd, whose studies demonstrated its transmission through feces; and Georges Widal, whose test for the disease continues to be used in some areas. This book chronicles the fight against typhoid in the words of these and other medical pioneers, showing how far we have come and how far we have yet to go.

She was an Irish immigrant cook. Between 1900 and 1907, she infected twenty-two 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 thirty 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-twentieth-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. To what degree are we willing to sacrifice individual liberty to protect the public's health? How far should we go in the age of AIDS, drug-resistant tuberculosis, and other diseases? 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.

A freelance agent stalks a shadowy arms dealer in this novel of action and adventure by the Edgar Award finalist . . . Rebellion is brewing in New Grenada—and the government of Cuba is only too happy to help the cause along. Now, freelance agent Joe Gall has been tasked with heading there to gather intel on Mike Bonner, an international salesman of arms and explosives. And when Gall untangles the truth about Bonner’s role in the simmering crisis, he must take all necessary action to prevent widespread bloodshed . . . “[Philip Atlee is] the John D. MacDonald of espionage fiction.” —Larry McMurtry, The New York Times “I admire Philip Atlee’s writing tremendously.” —Raymond Chandler

From the Edgar Award–nominated author:An agent for hire plays bodyguard to a titled beauty in Tenerife—and mixes partying with peril . . . Joe Gall, freelance operative, is assigned to protect a beautiful baroness under threat—and solve the mystery of who is after her. That means heading to the Canary Islands—and playing the part of a rich, hard-drinking American in Santa Cruz de Tenerife. It’s a tough job, but somebody has to do it . . . “[Philip Atlee is] the John D. MacDonald of espionage fiction.” —Larry McMurtry, The New York Times “I admire Philip Atlee’s writing tremendously.” —Raymond Chandler