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

Murphy, Jim. An American Plague: The True and Terrifying Story of the Yellow Fever
Epidemic of 1793.  Clarion Books, New York: 2003. 165 pages. Tr. $17.00 ISBN 0395776082

Annotation

An American Plague is the terrifying and dramatic true story of the Yellow Fever epidemic which hit Philadelphia in 1793, effectively shutting down the Federal government which was based in Philadelphia as the time.

Review

In 1793 no one knew the cause of Yellow Fever, so when it hit Philadelphia that summer it was attributed to foul smells from the harbor and dirty streets.  An American Plague tells the story of how the Yellow Fever epidemic that swept Philadelphia in 1793 effectively shut down the city and the federal government, which at the time was based out of Philadelphia instead of Washington D.C.  Most of the cities wealthy citizen fled to country homes or the homes of family in other cities to escape the illness, this included the top government officials such as President Washington, Thomas Jefferson, and Alexander Hamilton.  Those who stayed in the city were mostly those who had no other option; however there were a few people who stayed to help tend to the ill.  One of those people was Doctor Benjamin Rush.  Rush believed the fever sweeping the city was Yellow Fever, unlike some of his colleagues and went straight to work finding a way to combat the disease.  Rush’s treatment proved effective, though controversial.  In 1793 medicine was still very rudimentary and consisted of bleeding and purging patients, which is precisely what Rush’s treatment called for.  Rush was not the only one who opted to stay in the city and help the ill.  Several prominent towns people worked tirelessly to put together a make shift hospital and find volunteers to help tend to the sick and clean up the city. 

Awards/Honors

ALSC Notable Book 2004

Newberry Honor Book 2004

Orbis Pictus Award 2004

Sibert Award Winner 2004

YALSA Best Books for Young Adults 2004

Front and Back Matter

TOC, Sources, Acknowledgments, A Note about the Illustrations, Index

Author’s Website

http://www.jimmurphybooks.com/

Wheels of Change: How Women Rode the Bicycle to Freedom (With a Few Flat Tires Along the Way)

Macy, Sue. Wheels of Change: How Women Rode the Bicycle to Freedom (With a Few Flat Tires Along the Way).  National Geographic, Washington D.C.: 2011. 96 pages. Tr. $18.95 ISBN 9781426307614

Annotation

Sue Macy’s Wheels of Change chronicles how the newly invented bicycle contributed to the women’s rights movement of the turn of the 20^th century.

Review

Wheels of Change chronicles the history of the bicycle in relation to women’s history.  The bicycle allowed women much more freedom, but from the beginning there were critics who believed that the bicycle was an unladylike method of transportation.  Inventors even made side saddle bikes so ladies would not have to compromise their modesty by straddling a bicycle; however most bicyclists, male and female preferred the traditional safety bike.  The bicycle also caused uproar over women’s fashion as bikes were difficult to ride in long skirts and cumbersome petticoats.  Bicycling costumes came in many different styles.  For a time the bloomers saw a rebirth, but most women bicyclist simply opted for a slightly shorter skirt.  Besides bicycle styles and women’s fashion Macy also discusses the first female bike racers, women who competed to set distance records, how the bicycle was used in advertising and how the bicycle is still freeing women across the globe. 

Awards/Honors

YALSA Award for Excellence in Nonfiction for Adults 2012

Front and Back Matter

TOC, Foreword by Leah Missbach Day, Introduction, Features on: Celebrity Cyclists, Cycling Slang, Cycling Songs, the Cycling Press, Sell with Cycles. Highlights in Cycling and Women’s History, Resources, Sources of Quotes, Index, Picture Credits

Author’s Website

http://www.suemacy.com/

Chasing Lincoln's Killer

Swanson, James L. Chasing Lincoln’s Killer. Scholastic Books, New York, NY: 2009. 200 pages. Tr. $16.99 ISBN 9780439903547

Annotation

James L. Swanson’s Chasing Lincoln’s Killer is a fast paced read which details John Wilkes Booth’s run from the law in the wake of his assassination of President Lincoln.

Review

In Chasing Lincoln’s Killer, Swanson excellently explains what kind of man John Wilkes Booth was and what motivated him to kill the president of the United States.  Booth was a Southern gentleman and stood every inch with the Confederacy during the Civil War and was sorely disappointed when he heard of General Lee’s surrender.  Booth believed if he could kidnap or assassinate President Lincoln, then he could provide new motivation for the South to go on fighting and win the war.  Booth was a handsome and well known actor at the time and knew that if he were to publicly act against Lincoln and fail, he would be most certainly sentenced to death. 

When Booth awoke on the morning of April 14, 1865, he had no definite plans to assassinate the president that day.  It was not until he went to retrieve his mail from Ford’s Theater, at the same time as a White House messenger came to notify the theater that the President and the first lady would be attending the performance that evening, which Booth started to formulate his plan.  This was not Booth’s first plot against President Lincoln, though nothing had come of his previous plots.  But Booth was prepared for the opportunity, having his cohorts in place and an escape already planned.  Booth immediately contacted his coconspirators and set a plan in motion.  While Booth assassinated President Lincoln that night, George Atzerodt would assassinate Vice President Andrew Johnson, and Lewis Powell would kill Secretary of the State Seward.  Booth was the only assassin to succeed and with coconspirator David Harold the only one to escape the city that night.  Booth and Harold spent twelve days on the run in the countryside of Maryland and Virginia.  Isolated from the new while hiding out, Booth was surprised to discover the reaction to his action had not spurred on the South, nor was the populace happy, most were angry and saddened by the president’s murder.  This did not deter Booth who continued to his escape to the deep South in Swanson’s fast paced and exciting narrative which reveals the story behind the assassinate that rocked a nation. 

Awards/Honors

Richie’s Picks

YALSA’s Best Books for Young Adults 2010

Front and Back Matter

Author’s Note, List of Major Participants, From 1861 through 1865, Prologue, About the Author, Acknowledgments, Map of Assassins’ Route

Author’s Website

No Website

If Stones Could Speak: Unlocking the Secrets of Stonehenge

Aronson, Marc. If Stones Could Speak: Unlocking the Secrets of Stonehenge.  National Geographic, Washington D.C.: 2010. 64 pages. Tr. $17.95 ISBN 9781426305993

Annotation

Marc Aronson reveals the latest scientific discoveries and historical theories about Stonehenge and how it may possibly be related to other similar monuments found throughout the world.

Review

If Stones Could Speak is a fascinating new look at Stonehenge, featuring the latest research and theories about the famous monument.  According to archaeologist Mark Parker Pearson, Stonehenge consists not only of the stone circle, but also the surrounding sites including: Southern circle, woodhenge, long barrow, cursus, avenue, Durringson walls, and blue Stonehenge.  Pearson and his fellow archaeologist from Madagascar, Ramilisonina, believe that Stonehenge itself is a monument built to honor the dead.  Ramilisonina has seen similar stone structures in Madagascar which as constructed to honor the ancestors.  Previous theories held that the stone circle was some type of temple where the ancients worshiped.  Pearson believes Ramilisonina is right about Stonehenge being a monument to the dead and he believes that the Southern circle is the remains of a village.  So far Pearson and his crew have uncovered nine neolithic homes, and believe there may have been as many as a 1,000 homes on the site in the past.  This is just one of many mysteries that await to be discovered at Stonehenge and it’s surrounding sites. 

Awards/Honors

Orbis Pictus Honor Book 2011

Front and Back Matter

TOC, Epilogue, Appendices: Encyclopedia of Stonehenge, The Ever-Changing Timeline of Stonehenge, Suggestions for Further Reading

Author’s Website

http://www.marcaronson.com/

Almost Astronauts: 13 Women Who Dared to Dream

Stone, Tanya Lee. Almost Astronauts: 13 Women Who Dared to Dream.  Candlewick Press, Somerville, MA: 2008. 134 pages. Tr. $24.99 ISBN 9780763636111

Annotation

Tanya Lee Stone expertly tells the story of the Mercury 13 women who were the first women who dared to dream about going to space. 

Review

Almost Astronauts tells the story of the “Mercury 13” women who were chosen to undergo astronaut testing in order to study the possibility of sending women to space.  The Mercury 7 men were the first humans in outerspace.  NASA had no interest in sending women to space, but Dr. Randy Lovelace did.  Lovelace believed that women were just as capable as men, and being lighter weight would be cheaper to send into space, saving NASA almost a $1000 a pound.  Lovelace decided to run tests on female pilots to proved to NASA that women were just as capable of being astronauts as men.  Lovelace’s first subject was young pilot Jerrie Cobb.  Cobb completed all of the tests just as well as he male astronauts, but with fewer complaints.  But Cobb was only finished with phase one of the tests.  Phase two’s psychological tests included an isolation test in which Cobb would have to spend time in an isolation tank.  The isolation tank was filled with water and was completely void of light and sound.  Most subjects only lasted a few hours in the isolation and tank and many spoke to or sang to themselves while in the tank.  Cobb spent over 9 hours in the tank, hardly uttering a word, only checking in to report that she was okay every few hours.  No one had spent as long in the isolation tank as Cobb and none of the male astronauts’ isolation testing was as rigorous as Cobb’s.  The male astronauts were simply asked to spend 2 to 3 hours in a dark room equipped with a desk, pen, and paper.  Cobb underwent one final phase of testing at the Naval School of Aviation Medicine in Pensacola, Florida where she would undergo the same fitness tests as male astronauts.  Once again, Cobb excelled, passing all the tests.  12 more women followed in Cobb’s footsteps completing the entire phase one and two tests, but unfortunately the Naval School refused the use of their facilities for the other 12 subjects without an official request from NASA, which NASA refused to give.  Lovelace’s tests had come to a standstill, but the fight for women to become astronauts had not. 

Awards/Honors

ALA Notable Book 2010

Siebert Award 2012

YALSA Best Books for Young Adults 2010

YALSA Best Nonfiction for Young Adults Finalist 2010

Front and Back Matter,

TOC, Foreword by Margaret A. Weitekamp, Author’s Note, Appendix, Further Reading, Webliography, Sources, Source Notes, Photography Credits, Index, Acknowledgments

Author’s Website

http://www.tanyastone.com/

Master of Deceit: J. Edgar Hoover and America in the Age of Lies

Aronson, Marc. Master of Deceit: J. Edgar Hoover and America in the Age of Lies.  Candlewick Press, New York: 2012. 230 pages. Tr. $25.99 ISBN 9780763650254

Annotation

Master of Deceit is a biography of the first director of the FBI, J. Edgar Hoover and how he contributed to the emotional turmoil of the Cold War and the terror Communism might take root in America.

Review

Master of Deceit is an unbiased portrait of an incredibly smart, driven, and powerful man, J. Edgar Hoover.  Aronson explains how Hoover’s intelligence and ambition led him to become the first director of the Federal Bureau of Investigation.  Hoover’s job was to protect America from Communism and in doing that Hoover had no qualms lying to supervisors or turning to blackmail.  Hoover did get results and helped keep America safe during the Cold War, but a part of how he did that was by creating a state of fear and paranoia.  One of America’s criticisms of Russia was that they forced their citizens to live in a state of fear, encouraging family and friend to report on one another.  Despite being completely anticommunist Hoover used some of the same tactics here in American in an effort to root out communist spies.  Hoover and the FBI were also behind much of Senator McCarthy’s crusade against Communism.  Eventually, the FBI came under fire for Hoover’s clandestine projects and files, but most of Hoover’s actions as head of the FBI were not revealed until after his retirement. 

Awards/Honors

Richie’s Picks

Front and Back Matter

TOC, Prologue, Epilogue, How I Researched and Wrote this Book, Notes, Bibliography, Image Credits, Acknowledgments

Author’s Website

http://www.marcaronson.com/

Every Bone Tells a Story: Hominin Discoveries, Deductions, and Debates

Rubalcaba, Jill and Robertshaw, Peter. Every Bone Tells a Story: Hominin Discoveries, Deductions, and Debaters.  Charlesbridge, Watertown, MA,: 2010. 186 pages. Tr. $18.95 ISBN 9781580891646

Annotation

In Every Bone Tells a Story Rubalaba and Robertshaw recount four pivotal hominin discoveries in their engaging narrative. 

Review

Rubalcaba and Robertshaw’s Every Bone Tells a Story is a fascinating and engaging book which reveals the stories of four pivotal archeological finds which reveal important information about our ancestors: the Turkana boy, the Lapedo child, the Kennewick man and the iceman.  Each of these discoveries led to fascinating and controversial theories.  The Turkana boy raised the question of whether homo erectus had language or not And the Lapedo child raised the issue of when Neandertals went extinct and if the interbred with humans.  Even with these and similar questions answered these prehistoric bodies still have much to tell us as science and scientists continue to advance and question. 

Awards/Honors

YALSA Finalist for Best Nonfiction for Young Adults 2011

Front and Back Matter

TOC, Introduction, Conclusion, Further Reading and Source Notes, Timeline, Glossary, Hominins and Friends, Bibliography, Index, Acknowledgments/Photo Credits

Author’s Website

http://www.jillrubalcaba.com/