What do you think?
Rate this book
Bring Out Your Dead: The Great Plague of Yellow Fever in Philadelphia in 1793
2016 Reprint of 1949 Edition. Two parts in one volume. Full facsimile of the original edition, not reproduced with Optical Recognition Software. The first major American yellow fever epidemic hit Philadelphia in July 1793 and peaked during the first weeks of October. Philadelphia, then the nation's capital, was the most cosmopolitan city in the United States. Two thousand free blacks lived there, as well as many recent white French-speaking arrivals from the colony of Santo Domingo, who were fleeing from a slave rebellion. Major Revolutionary political figures lived there, and in the first week of September, Thomas Jefferson wrote to James Madison that everyone who could escape the city was doing so. The epidemic depopulated Philadelphia: 5,000 out of a population of 45,000 died, and chronicler Mathew Carey estimated that another 17,000 fled. In this psychological portrait of a city in terror, J. H. Powell presents a penetrating study of human nature revealing itself. "Bring Out Your Dead" is an absorbing account, form the original sources, of an infamous tragedy that left its mark on all it touched.
330 pages, Paperback
First published January 1, 1949
37 people are currently reading
609 people want to read
About the author
J.H. Powell
16 books1 followerJohn Harvey Powell (1914-1971) graduated from Swarthmore College and earned his Ph.D. degree in American History at the University of Iowa. Powell was Randolph Adams Memorial Lecturer at the University of Michigan and received the A. S. W Rosenbach Fellowship in Bibliography at the University of Pennsylvania. He was the author of The Books of a New Nation, also published by the University of Pennsylvania Press.
Ratings & Reviews
Friends & Following
Create a free account to discover what your friends think of this book!
Community Reviews
Displaying 1 - 30 of 39 reviews
July 11, 2021
This book does not read as if it was written nearly three-quarters of a century ago. Not only is it engaging and easy to follow (though a familiarity with at least the names of the main figures of the Early Republic will be helpful to any prospective reader), it gives far more space to the heroic efforts of Black Philadelphians and refugees than I ever expected to find in a mid-century academic work that didn't have these specific groups as its research focus. The book is ostensibly focused on Dr. Benjamin Rush, who was well-known during the late colonial and Revolutionary periods. Although the first third or so of the book is mostly dedicated to him, though, later chapters paint a deep and detailed picture of Philadelphia at this important moment in its history. I was especially intrigued by the later chapters, which detailed the work of the volunteer Assembly and other volunteer groups which, at the Mayor's request, undertook the task of keeping the city a somewhat functional and humane place after most of the rich and powerful had fled to their country homes. The societal and psychological parallels to our recent global pandemic were particularly striking. Excellently researched, eminently accessible, and utterly fascinating on multiple levels; absolutely a 5-star read.
May 17, 2011
The whole time I wanted to shout "MOSQUITOS! It is the MOSQUITOS!" I loved this book. But I also love public health and epidemiology...
November 8, 2021
This book chronicles the Yellow Fever that broke out in Philadelphia in 1793, but in a way that reads almost as if it were a work of fiction with a linear plot, a central character, antagonists and so on. (The author, who would later become an early branch manager of the Free Library, notes that he removed the footnote citations of his research thesis prior to publishing). I’ve never read a non fiction book formatted like this and I looooved it, I feel like the narrative structure helped me actually retain the info and also really humanized the historical figures. I often struggle with non fiction and I feel like having the info presented in a way similar to a novel really worked for the kind of reader I am.
I loved reading about names and places that I see all around Philly and learning about how they used to be (for example, when rich people “fled to the country” during the wake of the fever, they actually went to places that are now well within the city of Philadelphia like grays ferry, east falls and Germantown…The bush hill hospital was on the grounds that are now CCP…old city in general really came alive…) It was also interesting to see how the city of Philadelphia acted in response to the fever in comparison to how it has acted with covid.
At times chapters were inundated with lists of names, dates and amounts that were a bit much for a casual reader like myself, but as the book is a research project that’s to be expected. It was definitely a dense read, I don’t think I ever read more than a chapter at a time. That being said I really enjoyed it and I learned a lot! I’m excited to take my knowledge and reread Fever 1793, a YA historical fiction novel I loved as a kid which covers the same subject.
I loved reading about names and places that I see all around Philly and learning about how they used to be (for example, when rich people “fled to the country” during the wake of the fever, they actually went to places that are now well within the city of Philadelphia like grays ferry, east falls and Germantown…The bush hill hospital was on the grounds that are now CCP…old city in general really came alive…) It was also interesting to see how the city of Philadelphia acted in response to the fever in comparison to how it has acted with covid.
At times chapters were inundated with lists of names, dates and amounts that were a bit much for a casual reader like myself, but as the book is a research project that’s to be expected. It was definitely a dense read, I don’t think I ever read more than a chapter at a time. That being said I really enjoyed it and I learned a lot! I’m excited to take my knowledge and reread Fever 1793, a YA historical fiction novel I loved as a kid which covers the same subject.
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
Currently reading
February 14, 2010Another find from my trip to Philly. Great book so far...plenty of facts and information, but not really textbook-y.
May 2, 2022
Many interesting factors and observations of the yellow fever epidemic in Philadelphia in 1793. This book points out the speed of the disease, the search for treatment at the time, and the knowledge of which we have now and use to judge what happened then.
It is easy to look in hindsight as to what was done wrong, as the city and country were not prepared to handle this unknown illness. Im afraid this statement sounds far to familiar.
It is easy to look in hindsight as to what was done wrong, as the city and country were not prepared to handle this unknown illness. Im afraid this statement sounds far to familiar.
July 29, 2012
“Grim and fantastic senselessness” is the author’s description of the yellow fever in Philadelphia in 1793. And an apt description it is. Approximately 10 percent of city’s population died in the late summer/fall of the year -- a number disproportionately representing the poor and sick who could not escape the city.
Yet the well-to-do were not immune. A sad part of this story is the indiscriminate way the fever killed. At the time, a large part of the city’s leadership fled the city -- the poor, the disabled, the orphaned and the weak were left in the streets to die. Panic and chaos reigned. Yet dozens of men and women, black and white, rose up to pull the city together, to help the sick, to find asylum for the orphaned, to cart away and bury the dead. But they paid a horrible price -- almost all of them got the fever andmany died for their efforts
Death was a familiar sight in the late 18th century. Even without the fever, one quarter of children died before they could walk, half of all children died before reaching the age nine. Yet the sudden mass death was shocking to the city residents. Young, old, sick and well -- the fever struck them all.
Many doctors, led by Dr. Benjamin Rush, treated people with mercury and bloodletting. It was not surprising that his patients died. What was surprising that any of them lived. But that was state of medicine at the time. It’s hard to be too harsh on the doctors who stayed and risked their lives to treat the sick. (Many abandoned the city along with the councilmen, religious leaders, businessmen, etc.)
Reading through the book, I kept asking myself one question: Would I have stayed? Would I have tried to help? Staying and working with the poor and afflicted almost certainly meant catching the fever -- and you probably had less than a 50-50 chance of surviving, especially if one of the doctors described above treated you.
This is a surprisingly good book. It was written 1940’s and has some unfortunate references to African Americans as “coloreds,” but otherwise presents a positive portrait of their charity and service during the plague. I wish the book had talked more about fever and what they Philadelphians could have done -- if anything -- to prevent it. The flu returned four more times in the next six years to Philadelphia, though the 1793 outbreak was the worst.
P.S. No where in the regular text of the book do the words “Bring Out Your Dead” appear. In the footnotes, it’s pointed out that those words were never used during this plague. So why was the book called that? (But I must admit the title caught my eye. I thought it was about Monty Python,)
Yet the well-to-do were not immune. A sad part of this story is the indiscriminate way the fever killed. At the time, a large part of the city’s leadership fled the city -- the poor, the disabled, the orphaned and the weak were left in the streets to die. Panic and chaos reigned. Yet dozens of men and women, black and white, rose up to pull the city together, to help the sick, to find asylum for the orphaned, to cart away and bury the dead. But they paid a horrible price -- almost all of them got the fever andmany died for their efforts
Death was a familiar sight in the late 18th century. Even without the fever, one quarter of children died before they could walk, half of all children died before reaching the age nine. Yet the sudden mass death was shocking to the city residents. Young, old, sick and well -- the fever struck them all.
Many doctors, led by Dr. Benjamin Rush, treated people with mercury and bloodletting. It was not surprising that his patients died. What was surprising that any of them lived. But that was state of medicine at the time. It’s hard to be too harsh on the doctors who stayed and risked their lives to treat the sick. (Many abandoned the city along with the councilmen, religious leaders, businessmen, etc.)
Reading through the book, I kept asking myself one question: Would I have stayed? Would I have tried to help? Staying and working with the poor and afflicted almost certainly meant catching the fever -- and you probably had less than a 50-50 chance of surviving, especially if one of the doctors described above treated you.
This is a surprisingly good book. It was written 1940’s and has some unfortunate references to African Americans as “coloreds,” but otherwise presents a positive portrait of their charity and service during the plague. I wish the book had talked more about fever and what they Philadelphians could have done -- if anything -- to prevent it. The flu returned four more times in the next six years to Philadelphia, though the 1793 outbreak was the worst.
P.S. No where in the regular text of the book do the words “Bring Out Your Dead” appear. In the footnotes, it’s pointed out that those words were never used during this plague. So why was the book called that? (But I must admit the title caught my eye. I thought it was about Monty Python,)
June 24, 2016
In 1793, Philadelphia was the center of the new United States. It was the legal capital, the largest shipping port, the center of commerce and trade, the leading city for the study of medicine and learning in general.
The winter had been mild. That summer there was a drought and, with no municipal water system, people captured rainwater in open barrels for their use. During the summer, the city experienced an influx of people fleeing a bloody slave rebellion in Santo Domingo. With them came the yellow fever.
The Plague lasted 100 days, from August through November. There was little the learned doctors could do at the time to treat it, but they tried and they argued bitterly over which method was the most efficacious. Dr. Benjamin Rush (a signer of the Declaration of Independence) was convinced his method, which included copious amounts of bloodletting and emetics of mercury, was the only sure cure. He fought bitterly, mostly in the local paper, with doctors who disagreed.
Meanwhile, those who could leave, did, including George Washington, Thomas Jefferson, Alexander Hamilton, and the U.S. Congress. The Governor of Pennsylvania left. The Mayor of Philadelphia, Matthew Clarkson, stayed to cope with the nearly total breakdown of society. Fortunately, there were plenty of heroes among the middle classes, the Free Negroes, and the trades. The book describes how Philadelphia survived.
There are a couple of interesting side notes. The U.S. Government was being pressured by France to assist them in their war against Britain and Holland, which Washington was loathe to do. The Plague caused the government to scatter and little business was done. Other cities, especially New York, pitched in to supply cash and goods. A hospital was organized, as was an orphanage. Streets were cleaned in an effort to dispel the "miasma" that was thought to cause the Plague. (That mosquitoes were the vector--and were breeding the water barrels--wouldn't be discovered until the work of Walter Reed in 1901.) Dolley Madison lost her first husband, John Todd, and their infant son, to the Plague.
Written for the layman, "Bring Out Your Dead" is a fascinating look at medicine and society in post-Revolutionary United States.
The winter had been mild. That summer there was a drought and, with no municipal water system, people captured rainwater in open barrels for their use. During the summer, the city experienced an influx of people fleeing a bloody slave rebellion in Santo Domingo. With them came the yellow fever.
The Plague lasted 100 days, from August through November. There was little the learned doctors could do at the time to treat it, but they tried and they argued bitterly over which method was the most efficacious. Dr. Benjamin Rush (a signer of the Declaration of Independence) was convinced his method, which included copious amounts of bloodletting and emetics of mercury, was the only sure cure. He fought bitterly, mostly in the local paper, with doctors who disagreed.
Meanwhile, those who could leave, did, including George Washington, Thomas Jefferson, Alexander Hamilton, and the U.S. Congress. The Governor of Pennsylvania left. The Mayor of Philadelphia, Matthew Clarkson, stayed to cope with the nearly total breakdown of society. Fortunately, there were plenty of heroes among the middle classes, the Free Negroes, and the trades. The book describes how Philadelphia survived.
There are a couple of interesting side notes. The U.S. Government was being pressured by France to assist them in their war against Britain and Holland, which Washington was loathe to do. The Plague caused the government to scatter and little business was done. Other cities, especially New York, pitched in to supply cash and goods. A hospital was organized, as was an orphanage. Streets were cleaned in an effort to dispel the "miasma" that was thought to cause the Plague. (That mosquitoes were the vector--and were breeding the water barrels--wouldn't be discovered until the work of Walter Reed in 1901.) Dolley Madison lost her first husband, John Todd, and their infant son, to the Plague.
Written for the layman, "Bring Out Your Dead" is a fascinating look at medicine and society in post-Revolutionary United States.
March 21, 2014
This book was really hard to get into but I'm glad I stuck with it. It was very informative and really made me feel thankful that we have the modern comforts that we have today. I envision life in 1793 full of people smelling like camphor and vinegar, and the streets of urine and feces and dead meat.
It was interesting to find out that a makeshift government sort of just happened during this time, and it confirms my beliefs that we need some sort of government in order to succeed as a society. Basically, the strong looked after the weak, and many people gave their lives in the process. So many people perished that it must have been hard to get through the days without going crazy. People must have lived in a self-imposed solitary confinement in order to avoid "the fever."
The other thing that fascinated me was the barbaric treatments, especially bloodletting, and the use of mercury for "purging." I didn't realize it was used so extensively to treat a number of ailments, some not even that serious.
The book is well-researched and very detailed. I'm glad it's finished though.
It was interesting to find out that a makeshift government sort of just happened during this time, and it confirms my beliefs that we need some sort of government in order to succeed as a society. Basically, the strong looked after the weak, and many people gave their lives in the process. So many people perished that it must have been hard to get through the days without going crazy. People must have lived in a self-imposed solitary confinement in order to avoid "the fever."
The other thing that fascinated me was the barbaric treatments, especially bloodletting, and the use of mercury for "purging." I didn't realize it was used so extensively to treat a number of ailments, some not even that serious.
The book is well-researched and very detailed. I'm glad it's finished though.
December 27, 2007
This book goes beyond history to provide an account of individual heroism and nobility. The primary hero is Dr. Benjamin Rush, who led the fight against the plague of yellow fever in Philadelphia of 1793. The book is both well-written and well-researched, filled with details about the plague and its effect on all aspects of life in Philadelphia starting in the summer of 1793. Caribbean refuges brought the Yellow Fever. Philadelphia's ravenous mosquitoes provided the perfect vehicle for spreading the disease by first lunching on an infected victim and then biting a healthy one. The first fatalities appeared in July and the numbers grew steadily. The afflicted initially experienced pains in the head, back and limbs accompanied by a high fever. These symptoms would often disappear, leaving a false sense of security. The chronicle of death at times seems overwhelming, but the courage of those physicians and others who fought against it are what made it a remarkable chronicle of the history of disease and the people who battled against it.
November 21, 2016
I was interested to read this book because of the many references to it in the annotations to Arthur Mervyn.
The author considers the physician Benjamin Rush one of the heroes of this story. He worked tirelessly and helped instill confidence and hope in the people of Philadelphia during a time of terror, in spite of the fact that his cure for the yellow fever--aggressive bloodletting and mercury--likely killed more of his patients than no treatment at all.
"Panic is cured, not by reason, but by firmness," claims the author, but I rather liked Matthew Clarkson's firmness, or better still the humble work of Stephen Girard, the other heroes according to the author. I would have liked to have read more about Absalom Jones than Benjamin Rush, among other secondary heroes in the book.
But set in Philadelphia and with names like George Washington, John Adams, Thomas Jefferson, and Alexander Hamilton as tertiary characters, I found this a compelling story of a very bleak 100 days. And I am grateful that modern medicine has come a long way since 1793.
The author considers the physician Benjamin Rush one of the heroes of this story. He worked tirelessly and helped instill confidence and hope in the people of Philadelphia during a time of terror, in spite of the fact that his cure for the yellow fever--aggressive bloodletting and mercury--likely killed more of his patients than no treatment at all.
"Panic is cured, not by reason, but by firmness," claims the author, but I rather liked Matthew Clarkson's firmness, or better still the humble work of Stephen Girard, the other heroes according to the author. I would have liked to have read more about Absalom Jones than Benjamin Rush, among other secondary heroes in the book.
But set in Philadelphia and with names like George Washington, John Adams, Thomas Jefferson, and Alexander Hamilton as tertiary characters, I found this a compelling story of a very bleak 100 days. And I am grateful that modern medicine has come a long way since 1793.
December 26, 2018
In 1793 a terrible plague of yellow fever struck the city of Philadelphia, killing thousands and bringing the city to a standstill. All government functions were halted as thousands fled the stricken city. Even President Washington and the rest of the federal government fled while the epidemic raged. (At that time, Philadelphia was the nation's capital.)
Using contemporary source material, Powell examines the disease itself and describes the measures doctors took to cure it. He discusses how people reacted to the disease, especially those who stepped up to aid the sick and dying.
This is a sobering account of how a major city fell apart because of a disease, and although it took place a long time ago, I don't think modern America is any better equipped to deal with something similar today.
Using contemporary source material, Powell examines the disease itself and describes the measures doctors took to cure it. He discusses how people reacted to the disease, especially those who stepped up to aid the sick and dying.
This is a sobering account of how a major city fell apart because of a disease, and although it took place a long time ago, I don't think modern America is any better equipped to deal with something similar today.
March 23, 2008
With yellow fever spreading in South America, I figured I'd look at how it affected things here during one outbreak in Philadelphia in 1793.
It was pretty much your typical chaos, with an exodus of people who were able to leave and a long, challenging time for those who couldn't. While describing the progress of the outbreak and the way those still around dealt with it (they made their own government!), the book also emphasizes the state of medicine and the place of physicians in society at that time. This was before germ theory, so they were really at a loss to fight the disease. In fact, they had to stick it out until the first frost killed all the mosquitoes.
My job has brought pandemic preparedness into my life, so I thought I'd see what we've done in the past.
It was pretty much your typical chaos, with an exodus of people who were able to leave and a long, challenging time for those who couldn't. While describing the progress of the outbreak and the way those still around dealt with it (they made their own government!), the book also emphasizes the state of medicine and the place of physicians in society at that time. This was before germ theory, so they were really at a loss to fight the disease. In fact, they had to stick it out until the first frost killed all the mosquitoes.
My job has brought pandemic preparedness into my life, so I thought I'd see what we've done in the past.
December 10, 2009
Probably the #1 thing that people who know me don't know about me is that I love epidemics. Do you remember the Google map overlay with morbidity/mortality statistics for H1N1? I refreshed it every 5 minutes. Anyway.
This book is a little bit about the Philadelphia yellow fever epidemic and a little bit about Benjamin Rush (the most-respected doctor in the US at the time), but mostly it's about what people do when they confront problems that they don't understand and can't solve. Some people flee. Some try to profit. Some rage against it. Some do what they can.
This book is a little bit about the Philadelphia yellow fever epidemic and a little bit about Benjamin Rush (the most-respected doctor in the US at the time), but mostly it's about what people do when they confront problems that they don't understand and can't solve. Some people flee. Some try to profit. Some rage against it. Some do what they can.
May 20, 2009
Decent bit of history and a lovely reappraisal of Benjamin Rush, pompous medical assclown of the colonial era. No matter how much Powell pulls his punches and gives a kind and sympathetic word to Dr. Rush, I relished his laying down the reckoning with the verity that bleeding persons suffering from fever can only kill them faster.
Sadly, for Powell, this book made me yearn for Hans Zinsser's Rats, Lice, and History, my favorite book on plague.
Sadly, for Powell, this book made me yearn for Hans Zinsser's Rats, Lice, and History, my favorite book on plague.
July 2, 2014
"Bring out your dead" did not originate as a Monty Python catch-phrase. It was an urgent call to clear homes of the deceased as the plague swept through cities both in Europe in America. This book, by J.H. Powell, details the horrors of the 1793 yellow fever epidemic that descended on Philadelphia, as well as providing fascinating insights into medical and social history. A compelling read.
January 15, 2012
An excellent read and very informative about the yellow fever in Philadelphia. It is amazing that the city survived and thrived after the chaos of this epidemic. It's not footnoted but good end notes.
August 16, 2012
Fascinating, if gruesome, subject matter. Writing was fairly dry at times. Having grown up in and around Philadelphia, it was interesting to read of places I know well, places which no longer exist and learn a little bit about some of the well-known local persons.
February 18, 2013
On the small shelf dedicated to medical disaster stories, Bring Out Your Dead is a standout. Fascinating insights into the important role played by Haiti in the early American republic, and also the early Black population of Philadelphia.
February 12, 2008
A very informative book on the yellow fever that devastated the U.S. back in the 18th century.
June 21, 2012
Outstanding and very interesting book about Yellow Fever. A good template for understanding how yellow fever affected any colonial town.
August 4, 2017
You are so glad you live now. You are so glad you have modern medicine. And sanitation. And screens for your windows. And air conditioning. And refrigeration.
July 20, 2022
Powell's classic 1949 book is on the 1793 Yellow Fever Epidemic that killed 10% of the population of Philadelphia, the national capital of the new United States. He wrote it in a mostly narrative form, moving day by day and week by week detailing how the mosquito-born disease spread, and how the relatively primitive medical science of the late 18th century struggled to contain the deadly pestilence. Though it is an older history, it holds up surprisingly well and reads quite smoothly. One gets the sense of the descending chaos as more and more "leaders" flee, including the entire federal and state governments, which were both capital'd in philly. Much of the book follows the efforts of the prestigious Dr. Benjamin Rush to slow the advance of the fever as people die by the hundreds each day. Of course, Rush's preferred methods were bleeding and purging, which probably exasborated the death toll and earned him his share of criticism, which Rush dismissed out of hand.
This is a foundational text of medical history, yet it does have its shortcomings, especially since Powell didn't have access to the Quaker letters at the time. It could have done a little less on Rush, who guessed right on "bad vapors" but wrong on the source (bad coffee shipment), though no one got that mosquitos spread the disease. A little more on men like Richard Allen and Absalom Jones and the black doctors and nurses who managed the plague while most other white doctors fled would have made the book hold up a little better. But overall, Powell put together a narrative that makes the yellow fever epidemic seem like a slow but ever increasing horror story, not unlike the covid-19 epidemic of 2020-?. The Yellow Fever epidemic pretty much put to bed any notion that the national capital would stay in Philadelphia, since the entire city smelled of death for months on end and the fever continued to strike back in the years to come, which pushed Philadelphia to build a modern water system.
It is also a fascinating looking into the history of Philadelphia, which at that point ranged Vine Street to South Street and Schuylkill to Delaware Rivers (but really not that populated above 7th street, with surrounding villages and towns that were later all consolidated into a larger Philadelphia. Some of the names of places are still the same, though it also helps if one uses an old map to match up places he names, like the Potter Field (at present day Washington Square Park) or Bush Hill (present day Community College of Philadelphia.)
This epidemic centered on the most important city in the United States, and during the epidemic Powell showed how many places ordered any ship or traveler from Philly to be quarantined and isolated since they didn't have a great understanding of how the disease spread (probably coming on ships of the French refugees from the Haitian Revolution). The disease and its effects were a direct contributor to its rapid decline in national influence, which finally ended when the 2nd Bank was killed by Jackson 40 years later.
This is a foundational text of medical history, yet it does have its shortcomings, especially since Powell didn't have access to the Quaker letters at the time. It could have done a little less on Rush, who guessed right on "bad vapors" but wrong on the source (bad coffee shipment), though no one got that mosquitos spread the disease. A little more on men like Richard Allen and Absalom Jones and the black doctors and nurses who managed the plague while most other white doctors fled would have made the book hold up a little better. But overall, Powell put together a narrative that makes the yellow fever epidemic seem like a slow but ever increasing horror story, not unlike the covid-19 epidemic of 2020-?. The Yellow Fever epidemic pretty much put to bed any notion that the national capital would stay in Philadelphia, since the entire city smelled of death for months on end and the fever continued to strike back in the years to come, which pushed Philadelphia to build a modern water system.
It is also a fascinating looking into the history of Philadelphia, which at that point ranged Vine Street to South Street and Schuylkill to Delaware Rivers (but really not that populated above 7th street, with surrounding villages and towns that were later all consolidated into a larger Philadelphia. Some of the names of places are still the same, though it also helps if one uses an old map to match up places he names, like the Potter Field (at present day Washington Square Park) or Bush Hill (present day Community College of Philadelphia.)
This epidemic centered on the most important city in the United States, and during the epidemic Powell showed how many places ordered any ship or traveler from Philly to be quarantined and isolated since they didn't have a great understanding of how the disease spread (probably coming on ships of the French refugees from the Haitian Revolution). The disease and its effects were a direct contributor to its rapid decline in national influence, which finally ended when the 2nd Bank was killed by Jackson 40 years later.
November 5, 2024
This jabroni is obsessed with committees! The author has an outsized interest in bureaucracy and the makeup of committees, and almost no interest in how the events affected regular Philadelphians. You’ll hear every detail about every doctor’s theories, personal grievances, and thoughts on other doctors, but don’t get your hopes up about hearing how regular folks fared. (Unless, of course, they were on a committee. Then you’ll learn everything about who was on the committee, who stopped showing up to the committee, when the committee met…)
By the end I was rooting for the yellow fever!
By the end I was rooting for the yellow fever!
July 9, 2020
This was an interesting read. As we sit in the middle of a pandemic, I’m obsessed with all literature of the viral disease variety. I enjoyed the writing and found similarities between what we are dealing with and what the citizens of Philadelphia experienced. Yellow Fever is not transmissible by humans, but they didn’t know that at the time.
June 1, 2020
Highly descriptive account of the crisis in Philadelphia I assigned by the Yellow Fever epidemic of 1793. Lacking analysis but chock full of details the book gives a vivid account of the events of August through November of that year.
June 6, 2022
“While the Federal gentry fled, Mayor Clarkson received his real help from artisans, radicals, revolutionaries, from those whom the gentry regarded as dangerous. There was a lesson here, somewhere.” 1949 about the 1793 yellow fever plague in Philly–hits about the same in 2022
July 2, 2024
This book shows us how far medicine has come since 1793! Wow! So difficult to help people with yellow fever in Philadelphia! Hundreds dying a day! Some dropping in the streets! If you can stand it or are interested in medicine, you might find this book interesting!🥸
September 15, 2021
Loved this! A work of nonfiction written like a novel it had me turning each page eager to see the developments of this fever of 1793. It also gave me lots more to look into reading.
December 21, 2023
J.M. Powell how dare you say footnotes are annoying to the reader. I want them.
Displaying 1 - 30 of 39 reviews