Before I went to Guatemala I got my typhoid shot and I remembered that I had this book waiting to be read. What is typhoid? Why did I need a shot when I went to Guatemala? Oh, yeah - bad sanitation in the country can lead to typhoid and outbreaks have historically been bad.
This book was about typhoid outbreaks in the early 1900s and more specifically about the first known carrier. Mary Mellon is thought to have infected many people through her work as a cook. But she claimed she never was sick herself. She was a carrier and the thyphoid bacteria was present in her body and she unknowingly passed it on to the people she served with several dying as a result.
What I liked about the book was that it gave good context, explored the roles of several people, and the author tried to remain neutral and fair about Mary as a person. What did she know? Did she ever really understand? I enjoyed the author's book Red Madness about a lesser known disease and I felt this one was as good.
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