Middle Grade Non-Fiction
G/A Bartoletti,
Susan Campbell. Terrible Typhoid Mary: A
True Story of the Deadliest Cook in America.
Houghton Mifflin, 2015. 240p. 978-0-544-31367-5. 17.99
There is not a lot of information about Mary Mellon
available. We know she was Irish, worked as a cook and was a healthy carrier of
the typhoid virus. After unknowingly infecting over 20 people with typhoid,
Mary was nicknamed Typhoid Mary by the medical community. Bartoletti has pieced
together Mary’s story, including her strong spirit and her confinement on North
Brother Island. She also brings to light the fact that there were actually many
healthy carriers of typhoid and none of them were treated as harshly as Mary
was. The facts raise questions about differences in gender discrimination and
civil rights. Book includes archival photographs, a timeline, notes and index. Loren
Spector, LAPL, Memorial Branch Library
