Who Doesn't Love a Plague? A book by Jim Murphy
Seriously, An American Plague: The True and Terrifying Story of the Yellow Fever Epidemic of 1793 was entirely fascinating. Like brain porn or something. I love medical weirdness and plagues and boils and gross stuff. So this book had me from the title. I decided to outline what a few chapters accomplish and how. A dissection of sorts.
Ch. 1: Setting the stage with a vivid visual backdrop and details to ground the “story” in what the reader may already know of history. The voice is dramatic, mysterious. “No one knew ...” heavy with threat.
Ch. 3: Rising panic is shown with quotes and details like the bells being silenced and this being “too much like the eternal silence of the grave.” Evocative yet unadorned.
Ch. 4: Everyone is now leaving the city. The effect of a stalled government, the inept response, societal panic is depicted with a cliffhanger chapter ending.
The story is gripping from beginning to end. Not mere facts, but human story with characters who appear throughout. Details are interwoven with quotes from research whenever possible. Now this is how to write nonfiction, people. Read and learn.
In We Are the Ship Nelson combines fabulous paintings with rich text full of voice for a truly interesting look at the Negro League of baseball. The paintings are gentle, respectful, full of love with absolutely amazing use of light.
I'm going through our curriculum's book lists to see what I can get at the library and what we ought to purchase.
A book for those of us who seldom (if ever) experience a “summery” spirituality. Marty turns to the Psalms which are overwhelmingly wintery and seldom mention the life to come, something I’d never noticed before.
Dr. Rubin, an influential sociologist and psychotherapist, has collected stories of her experiences as a therapist and recorded them here. Both an instruction manual and a fascinating set of case studies, this book provides endless insight into the therapeutic process and human nature. Her storytelling is superb, her love...
The intro is sort of dry, but the melding of fiction and nonfiction with fascinating detail on construction held my interest to the end. Yet why was there such a need for bathing? (I know it’s ritual bathing, but the text doesn’t tell me this.) There’s a ton of info on engineering, but not much...
Would it be admitting ignorance to say I don’t like poems I don’t understand? I mean, I sort of understand “The Perceiving Self,” but I mostly don’t. It makes me wonder...
The story of Fritz’s childhood in China. A memoir for children full of fun stories and written in an accessible fairy-tale tone. Rich detail, vivid storytelling, a likable protagonist. There is very little difference between...
Now here is a compelling and well-told story! Kamma never loses her narrative thread, she includes quotes and details, and she keeps the details to those that ground the story or move it forward. She, in short, finds a plot and...
Second person, a how-to booklet on digging to the center of the earth and beyond. Fact meets fun. The fantasy element combined with scientific detail make this a favorite and true classic. But hey, my copy didn't come with a CD!
That aside...
Seriously, An American Plague: The True and Terrifying Story of the Yellow Fever Epidemic of 1793 was entirely fascinating. Like brain porn or something. I love medical weirdness and plagues and boils and gross stuff. So this book had me from the title.