An American Plague

1. BIBLIOGRAPHIC DATA
An American Plague
The True and Terrifying Story of the the Yellow Fever Epidemic of 1793

Written by Jim Murphy

Published by Clarion Books

Published 2003

ISBN 0-395-77608-2

2. PLOT SUMMARY
Imagine you are a resident of Philadelphia in 1793. A mysterious killer is running rampant on the streets outside, and you are powerless to stop it. It could strike you at any time! An American Plague puts you right in the center of Philadelphia during the midst of a deadly Yellow Fever epidemic. Residents were powerless to stop this killer, and before they even had a vague clue as to what had hit the city, hundreds of residents were dead. Thousands would be gone before it was all over. This fast paced account of the epidemic takes readers back to the days when this deadly predator lurked amongst the homes of Philadelphia.

3. CRITICAL ANALYSIS
At times, this non-fiction account of one of the deadliest plagues to ever hit Philadelphia read like a great mystery novel! With lines like, "Friday, August 20. The deathly quiet of this Friday morning was shattered by the sharp, echoing boom of a cannon." starting off a chapter, what reader couldn't help but be pulled in? Informational text has certainly changed from when I was in school. If there had of been more books as well written as this one, I might have finally ventured away from the fiction shelf! Jim Murphy paints a grisly scene as he describes the bleak outcome for many of the residents of Philadelphia in 1793. Descriptive accounts of fever symptoms and how affected patients reacted to the disease, left clear visualizations in my mind. While I was aware of this epidemic, Murphy's well-researched book gave me such a vast amount of information on the subject, that I now feel like an expert on the subject! However, for all of the detail Murphy used to describe the epidemic, I never once felt "bogged down" by all of the facts. Many informational books throw one fact after another at the reader as they read, that they overwhelm you with the information, until you are left with a pile of useless information that you can't really tie together. Murphy does not do this. His book read well, and each new bit of information flowed smoothly into the next, and the reader was able to see how all of the events of the Yellow Fever epidemic worked together to create one of the greatest disasters in Philadelphia. Illustrations and copies of newspaper accounts from the time period worked together to allow the reader to connect to this event from our past. An informative and interesting read!

4. REVIEW EXCERPTS
*From School LIbrary Journal (Starred Review)--"solid research and a flair for weaving facts into fascinating stories...extensive and interesting...you'll have students hooked on history."
*From Booklist--"History, science, politics and public health come together in this dramatic account...brings the "unshakeable unease chillingly close."

5. CONNECTIONS
*I WISH I would have had this book several years ago when my fifth grade class read Fever, 1793 by Laurie Halse Anderson. The deeper understanding my students could have had of the fever and its impact on Philadelphia would have been incredible. I definately recommend pairing the two books together for a great literature study.
*Students could write a newspaper article to inform readers how to keep from getting the disease, and how to recognize the symptoms.