An American Plague: The True and Terrifying Story of the Yellow Fever Epidemic of 1793

BIBLIOGRAPHY
Murphy, Jim. 2003. AN AMERICAN PLAGUE: THE TRUE AND TERRIFYING STORY OF THE YELLOW FEVER EPIDEMIC OF 1793. New York: Clarion Books. ISBN 0-395-77608-2.

PLOT SUMMARY
This book tells the story of the yellow fever epidemic of 1793 in Philadelphia. President George Washington and other government officials live and work in Philadelphia, the temporary capital of the new nation. The long drought and primitive sanitation practices of the day have combined to foster conditions that are conducive to the spread of yellow fever. President Washington and Congress are wrestling with a variety of issues including the question of America’s involvement in the war between the French and the British. As the yellow fever epidemic spreads from the waterfront area of Philadelphia to the entire city, citizens, including local, state, and national government officials, leave town to escape the contagion. This exodus cripples the city’s ability to handle the crisis. Among the brave people who stay behind to tend to the sick, are the members of the Free African Society. In due time, the epidemic runs its course, the citizens return, and life continues.

CRITICAL ANALYSIS
Jim Murphy has written a gripping account of the yellow fever epidemic in 1793 Philadelphia. The accuracy of Murphy’s information is substantiated by an extensive list of sources in the back of the book. The sources are arranged conveniently into broad categories including "Firsthand Accounts: Nonmedical", "Firsthand Accounts: Medical", "All About Yellow Fever", "Blacks in Philadelphia", and "Other Plagues". A table of contents, a word about the illustrations and an index are other verbal access features included in Murphy’s book.

Murphy blends elements of science, medicine, history and politics into an inviting and readable story. The illustrations in the book are black and white reproductions of art from the period and facsimiles of maps and newspaper articles. These enhance and complement the text and lend authority to the account of this terrible time in Philadelphia history. The author closes An American Plague with a thought-provoking chapter about malaria - "A Modern-Day Time Bomb". Readers will want to investigate the sources in the back of the book to learn more about mankind’s delicately balanced relationship with the environment in which we live.

AWARDS
School Library Journal Best Books of the Year 2003
Robert F. Sibert Informational Book Award 2004
ALA Notable Books for Children 2004
NCTE Orbis Pictus Award 2004
Boston Globe-Horn Book Awards 2004
James Madison Book Award 2004

REVIEW EXCERPTS
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, when a young French sailor died in Richard Denny’s boardinghouse on North Water Street."
Publishers Weekly: "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."

CONNECTIONS
>List the environmental, living, and social conditions of Philadelphia in 1793 and compare them to a present day region like Brazil, Paraguay, or Argentina where new outbreaks of yellow fever were reported in January 2008 according to the World Health Organization. (for one example see the following link - http://www.who.int/csr/don/2008_02_07/en/index.html )
>Pair this book with a fictional account like Paul Fleischman’s Path of the Pale Horse or Fever, 1793 by Laurie Halse Anderson. Compare and contrast the writing styles present in a fiction versus a non-fiction book.