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Product Description Uncovering the true story of America's first plague epidemic in 1900, this book is perfect to share with young readers looking for a historical perspective of the Covid-19/Coronavirus pandemic that is gripping the world today. In March 1900, San Francisco's health department investigated a strange and horrible death in Chinatown. A man had died of bubonic plague, one of the world's deadliest diseases. But how could that be possible? Acclaimed author and scientific expert Gail Jarrow brings the history of a medical mystery to life in vivid and exciting detail for young readers. She spotlights the public health doctors who desperately fought to end it, the political leaders who tried to keep it hidden, and the brave scientists who uncovered the plague's secrets. This title includes photographs and drawings, a glossary, a timeline, further resources, an author's note, and source notes. A School Library Journal Best Book of the Year A New York Public Library Best Book for Teens From School Library Journal Gr 5 Up—With a mesmerizing description of the suffering endured by bubonic plague victims, followed by several fascinatingly gruesome photographs depicting visible signs of the disease, Jarrow hooks readers from the start. This final installment of the author's "Deadly Disease" trilogy is as compelling as the first two titles, Red Madness: How a Medical Mystery Changed What We Eat (2014) and Fatal Fever: Tracking Down Typhoid Mary (2015, both Boyds Mills). Before describing the chaos the plague wrought on American shores, Jarrow recounts major plague outbreaks throughout history as well as early bacteriological advances, such as the identification by French scientist Alexandre Yersin of the microbe responsible for the bubonic plague. The plague arrived in the port city of San Francisco in 1900 and claimed its first victim in Chinatown, a neighborhood near the wharves. Chinatown was quickly quarantined by the Board of Health, but with California Governor Henry T. Gage denying the existence of plague and Chinese officials bucking against perceived discrimination, tensions rose and containment efforts failed. Eventually Rupert Blue of the Marine-Hospital Service was brought in by the surgeon general to control the outbreak. When the plague returned to San Francisco in 1907 after the devastating earthquake of 1906, Blue came back. By this time scientists had determined that the fleas on rats were responsible for transmitting the plague, and the city mobilized to curtail the rat population, successfully containing the outbreak in a matter of months. Weaving in numerous photographs and newspaper clippings, Jarrow tells an absorbing story. VERDICT Nonfiction that reads like a thriller—not to be missed.—Ragan O'Malley, Saint Ann's School, Brooklyn, NY Review ★ "Jarrow's detailed narrative and attention to the stories of the medical figures involved make this compelling reading. As in the previous volumes, the level of research on display is impressive… The large number of photographs and illustrations enhances the text, and the layout is graphically interesting without becoming distracting…. A richly detailed exploration of a fascinating subject." —Kirkus Reviews, starred review ★ "With a mesmerizing description of the suffering endured by bubonic plague victims, followed by several fascinatingly gruesome photographs depicting visible signs of the disease, Jarrow hooks readers from the start. This final installment of the author’s “Deadly Disease” trilogy is as compelling as the first two titles… Weaving in numerous photographs and newspaper clippings, Jarrow tells an absorbing story. Nonfiction that reads like a thriller—not to be missed." — School Library Journal, starred review ★ "Jarrow concludes her Deadly Diseases trilogy with a harrowing, in-depth exploration of the reappearance of bubonic plague at the turn of the 20th century…. her gripping narrative balances the clock-racing work of sc