Jim Murphy (2) (1947–2022)

This was an interesting and informative book, but could have been much better. It is a short book, only about 150 pages. But the narrative is even shorter as there are many illustrations, which are actually the best part of the book. On almost every other page is an illustration from the time period, thus reducing the prose.

The book is the story of the Yellow Fever plague in Philadelphia in 1793. Unfortunately, the medical community neither knew what caused the disease, nor how to properly cure it. Only later did they learn the disease was carried by mosquitoes.

Overall, it is not a bad book, but I wish the story had gone deeper into the daily life of the citizens of Philadelphia and how they coped with the plague, as well as some in-depth stories of those who suffered and recovered from the disease.

As I said, the illustrations are beautiful and are the best part of the book, thus I was able to give it 3 stars. As it is a very short read, I can recommend it for those interested in this subject. There is a nice index and list of sources at the end for those wishing to read further on the subject.… (mer)

Short book that tells the history of a severe blizzard that hit the Northeastern US in March, 1888. Though the storm covered many states, from Virginia to Maine, the story is focused on the area around New York City. It contains stories of individuals who miraculously survived and many who did not. Back then, weather forecasting was still pretty primitive, and telegraph communications were easily disrupted. Near the end, the author recounts some of the improvements that were made in disaster planning as a result. It provides enough historic details to give readers a good idea about how people lived in those days and how different it is from today.… (mer)