TYPHOID MARY

This timely and humanizing portrait of the real Typhoid Mary provides a window into the ethical dilemmas surrounding public health policy both past and present 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 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