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Loading... Typhoid Maryby Anthony Bourdain
None. much better than Manhunt, sympathetic and humorous (  ) EhEh | Apr 3, 2013 |  A slim, informative history of Mary Mallon (Typhoid Mary) written by chef Anthony Bourdain. I enjoyed his writing style, which is direct and casual. After reading Fever by Mary Beth Keane, I was interested in where she had diverged from fact, and Typhoid Mary served neatly. ( ) JennyArch | Apr 3, 2013 | Bourdain's breezy essay on Mary Mallon is less factual than speculative, more of a pensee focused on cooks' employment and circumstances than a biography or social history. Some of his assertions are a stretch, and others are factually incorrect. It could have used a good edit for accurate content and consistent style. For maximum effect, read with Susan Sontag's [b:Illness as Metaphor|52375|Illness as Metaphor and AIDS and Its Metaphors|Susan Sontag|http://photo.goodreads.com/books/1170387541s/52375.jpg|210637] and Gina Kolata's [b:Flu: The Story of the Great Influenza Pandemic of 1918 and the Search for the Virus That Caused It.|763331|Flu The Story Of The Great Influenza Pandemic|Gina Kolata|http://photo.goodreads.com/books/1178140492s/763331.jpg|749418] ( ) OshoOsho | Mar 30, 2013 | An interesting story in an of itself. Interesting also because the author uses it to tell a story of that time in history. As someone who enjoys cooking and learning about the food industry, I found it an enjoyable read. I do wish we could get a better glimpse into the person that Mary was. I ended the book still wanting to know her point of view not history's view of her. My favorite part of the book was the epilogue when Anthony Bourdain interjects himself into the story and tells of his visits to the places in the book. The segment portrays the emotion and sadness of the book while the rest is an abbreviated historical account with excerpts from many other documents. This book reads like an essay except that it is too long to be an essay. However, it is still a short book and a relatively easy read for the serious topic it addresses. (  ) njmom3 | Apr 26, 2011 | I read this book with faith that the book would pick up, that the plot wouldthicken, that, at least, everything would come together at the end.None of these happened for me.The earth did not move.I would rate TM a 1: don't waste your time. (  ) debnance | Jan 29, 2010 | no reviews | add a review
Amazon.com Product Description (ISBN 0747566879, Paperback)In 1906, at a prosperous Long Island summer home, a family falls ill and typhoid is diagnosed. When Dr George Soper is called in to find the source of the contagion, he notices that the household cook has gone missing. She is Mary Mallon, the woman who would become known as Typhoid Mary. Soper, sanitary engineer turned sleuth, sees Mary as his Moriarty. He finds there has been an outbreak of typhoid fever in every household she has worked in over the past decade. Mary is a 'carrier', a seemingly healthy individual who passes on her dangerous germs, sometimes with fatal consequences. Now Soper must hunt the cook down before she can infect more unsuspecting victims. A poor Irish immigrant, Mary refuses to believe that she can harbour typhoid in her strong and healthy body, and she doesn't intend to go quietly. In this fascinating true story Bourdain, in an homage from one cook to another, follows Mary through the kitchens of New York, putting a human face to a desperate and unintentional murderer, and examines a time, and a life, with his inimitable style.(retrieved from Amazon Tue, 19 Apr 2011 17:42:21 -0400) No library descriptions found. |
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