Book Review: An American Plague

An American Plague: The True and Terrifying Story of the Yellow Fever Epidemic of 1793 by Jim Murphy

My rating: 3 of 5 stars


As the subtitle indicates, this is, indeed the story of the yellow fever epidemic of 1793 (and subsequent years) in Philadelphia. The author draws on primary sources (letters, diaries, newspaper articles) to create an overall horrifying picture of how yellow fever ravaged this then largest city in America. I was especially intrigued by how the medical community reacted to the fever—the various "cures" doctors tried—as well as by the heroics of ordinary citizens as they cared for the sick.

This is a children's book (5th grade and up), and I have to say my own kids would probably have been disappointed at the promise of a "terrifying" story. It was gruesome in parts (all that black bile—ew) but perhaps not "terrifying." Nonetheless, it is a quick and easy read, and, honestly, I didn't know much about this particular yellow fever outbreak and how it affected our newly formed country. It wasn't a riveting read, but I'm glad to have spent the afternoon delving into this bit of history.



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Book Review: Beautiful Boy

I've been putting off reading this book for quite some time now. I'd read reviews of it—knew the subject matter—and somehow was reluctant to read it. This is David Sheff's memoir of his son Nic's battle with meth addiction. It's a hard book to read, especially if you have a 17-year-old son, like I do. Unless a parent lives in utter denial, you can't help but thinking, "This could be my kid."

Because it could be, really, anyone's kid, and that's one of the points that Sheff makes. It doesn't necessarily matter how lenient or how restrictive you were as a parent. It doesn't matter if your kid is an outcast or the most popular kid at school, an honor student or barely passing classes. Meth, he contends, is not content to hang out in trailer parks or the projects. It can seduce anyone at anytime.

Meth got his brilliant, witty, happy son Nic and turned him into a trembling, sneaking liar, who was so desperate that he even stole from his eight-year-old brother. This is David's story about Nic's addiction and about how David dealt with the fear, helplessness, denial, and tremendous guilt associated with being the parent of an addict. David finds himself struggling to live a normal life for his two young children while being essentially constantly thinking about Nic.

Sheff is an excellent writer. The story is sometimes terribly repetitive, but that in itself reflects the nature of addiction: the same cycle over and over and over: recovery, relapse, recovery, relapse. One can't help but google Nic Sheff immediately upon finishing the book, hoping to find him still in recovery but fearing the worst.

Turns out Nic Sheff has his own 2008 memoir, Tweak: Growing Up on Methamphetamines and a mySpace page that looks to be fairly current. I hope he is doing well, and that his younger brother and sister, as they are entering the age where his addiction started, are staying strong—and far, far away from meth.

I can't say I enjoyed reading this book—who could? But I'm glad I did.

Book Review: Dear Mr. President: Abraham Lincoln--Letters from a Slave Girl

My younger (2nd and 6th grade) kids and I spent about a month reading about Abraham Lincoln this year, and we really enjoyed this epistolary work by Andrea Davis Pinkney. The fictional letters are between President Lincoln and a young slave girl, Lettie Tucker, who was secretly taught to read and write by her master's daughter. Lettie tells the president about her life, and in doing so challenges his views and perhaps influences his decisions. The President in turn shares his thoughts with Lettie, and together the mourn the loss of his young son and of Lettie's father.

We enjoyed the conversational tone of the book as well as the pictures. I liked how so many historical events were included in the letters, and my kids were familiar enough with the events of the Civil War to have some context. I did have issues, however, with Lettie's command of the written word and her constant profundity. I understand that it makes connections in the book, but it was all a little too blatant.

But my kids didn't notice that kind of thing. They were really enthralled by the story of Lettie and Mr. Lincoln, and the photographs were wonderful. I'd count this as a valuable addition to a study of Abraham Lincoln.

Book Review: The Bookseller of Kabul

Norwegian journalist Asne Seierstad spent three months living with Sultan Khan in 2002, after the fall of the Taliban. Khan is an Afghan bookseller, and, according to Seierstad, is not a typical Afghani, as he is middle class and literate. Seierstad is able to immerse herself and her audience in the life of this Khan's rather complex family, painting a rather depressing and even terrifying picture of life in Afghanistan.

In The Bookseller of Kabul, Seierstad jumps from family member to family member, detailing her experiences with Afghani politics, religion, culture, education, and especially gender roles. I think I felt almost more hopeless reading this book than reading Cormac McCarthy's The Road (my review here), because the latter is fiction. Seierstad's account is full of real people living their lives terrified and frustrated. In one chapter, Sultan's 12-year-old son is described as working 12-hour days selling candy in a hotel lobby with only a few customers each day. He grows pale and unhealthy, working from dawn to dusk, with what seems to be no hope for any relief. The women in Sultan's life are constantly humiliated and overworked, and everyone lives in terror of doing something offensive.

Apparently Sultan was outraged by Seierstad's book and sued (or planned to sue) her for libel, insisting that she misrepresented his family. Who knows the real story, but Hosseini's A Thousand Splendid Suns and The Bookseller of Kabul together present a bleak picture of life of Afghani women.

I'm glad I read this book. I can't really say I enjoyed it, both because of the subject matter and the choppiness of the chapters, but I think it's an important read.


Other reviews of this book:
One More Chapter
Semicolon

Book Review: The Other Side of the River

July 30, 2007

This book by Alex Kotlowitz (author of the best-selling There Are No Children Here) is praised by Kirkus Reviews as being "A powerful record of an untimely death in middle America." The disappointment is that this is not a particularly powerful nor compelling book, although the subject matter certainly is compelling. This nonfiction account is of two cities in Michigan: lily-white and rich St. Joseph and poverty-stricken and black Benton Harbor, just across the river. This could have been a powerful book because the contrast between these two towns is fascinating; however, Kotlowitz stumbles as a writer, taking the long way about and leaving a maze of jumbled stories. I couldn't help but compare this to John Grisham's The Innocent Man, which follows a similar story of injustice and an unsolved crime. Where Grisham uses his storytelling skills to make his nonfiction account read like a mystery as well as a social commentary, Kotlowitz's story lacks the kind of personal close-ups that makes for a gripping tale. He could have done a lot more to make the reader know the characters on a deeper level.

Book Review: The Innocent Man

June 3, 2007

Subtitled "Murder and Injustice in a Small Town", this nonfiction book by John Grisham was the fascinating chronicle of how two guys in a small town in Oklahoma were wrongly convicted of a murder without a shred of evidence. The book focuses on Ron Williamson, the suspect who was ultimately sent to death row. The story is just unbelievable; sadly, it's a true story of one man's wasted life. I have read most of Grisham's novels, and most I find good for plot reading but predictable and full of unreal dialogue. I loved his memoir The Painted House and thought that his first novel, A Time to Kill, was exceptional. But I have to give Grisham more respect after reading The Innocent Man. His writing and research are excellent, and though this is nonfiction, it reads like a great crime story. I'm thinking Grisham needs to pursue writing nonfiction a little more often...

Book Review: The Children's Blizzard

March 30, 2007

It is impossible for those of us who live in mild regions to imagine a storm like the blizzard of 1888, as described by David Laskin in this book. After 5 years in Iowa and 18 in upstate New York, I still can't grasp the ferocity of weather that attacked the Dakotas and other prairie regions in this famous blizzard. Laura Ingalls Wilder actually does a much better job of describing life with constant blizzards in The Long Winter. Laskin spends too much time for my taste on technical weather facts and the ins-and-outs of the Signal Corps. The book is titled The Children's Blizzard because of the hundred or so children who were lost in the blizzard on their way home from school. I'd rather have read more about the families and less about "the vagaries of forecasting." Still, this is an interesting book, which potentially could have been a fascinating book (and might be for someone who is interested in the technical parts of weather).