What I'm reading this week

 

Its undeniable.  I've become my father. 

 

I am a non-fiction reader. 

 

I yearn to know more, to understand the 'Why?' and the 'How come?' and to figure out how we got where we are today.  Not to mention - old school medicine theories are hilarious!

 

Let me explain that last one.  What I'm reading this week:

 

(Yep, that's Jake in the background "working" on his bike.")

 

Terrible Typhoid Mary:

A true story of the deadliest cook in America

 

Why, you may ask, are you reading this?

 

Well, that goes back to my dad as well.  Anytime any of us kids would become ill, he'd call us Typhoid Mary and steer clear of us as much as possible.  So when I ran across this book in doing research for a new Tween section in my department, I just had to read it and discover just who Typhoid Mary was.  

 

Dust jacket reads:

 

This is the story of a cook - a quiet, diligent cook who kept to herself.  Her specialty was homemade ice cream topped with fresh peaches, which she served on hot summer days.  She worked for some of the wealthiest families in New York, who spoke highly of her skills.

 

But when six members of one household nearly died, the cook mysteriously disappeared - and the hunt for Typhoid Mary began.

 

In this captivating biography, Susan Campbell Bartoletti looks beyond the tabloid scandal of Mary's controversial life.  She reveals a lesser-known story of human and civil rights violations, entangled with the science of pathology and enduring questions about who Mary Mallon really was.  How did this private cook become one of the most notorious and misunderstood women in American history?  What happens to a person whose name and reputation are forever damaged?  And who is really responsible for the lasting legacy of Typhoid Mary? 

 

 

Interesting points in the book:

 

* The first woman doctor, Elizabeth Blackwell, did not believe in the germ theory (that you become sick by coming in contact with germs and bacteria).  She believed that disease was caused by immoral behavior.  Great doctor! 

 

* Households that Typhoid broke out in sometimes would be burned to the ground to stop the disease from spreading! 

 

* Typhoid Mary was a 'heathly carrier' of the disease - meaning that her body had a natural defense to typhoid but still carried the germs in her gall bladder.  She inadvertently spread the disease by not washing her hands properly after going to the bathroom!!

 

I will admit that this book did not help germaphobic fears.  At all.