Typhoid Mary

“Eloquent and troubling history . . . I’m convinced by Leavitt’s arguments, fascinated by the way she tells this story and urge everyone to read her book.”
—Janet Goldin, The Women’s Review of Books

“[An] alert and thoughtful work . . . Leavitt counsels us, through her sympathetic re-creation of the tragedy of Mary Mallon, that such decisions can never be cut-and-dried, and should not be seen as narrowly medical.”
—Roy Porter, Nature

“Leavitt’s intricate, painstaking, fascinating unraveling of the many factors contributing to Mallon’s fate projects an indelible picture of early-20th-century New York, when modern knowledge and sensibilities collided with ancient terrors. . . Leavitt’s writing succeeds in assigning sublime clarity to an excruciatingly complex subject.”
—Judith E. Harper, The Boston Book Review

“[An] excellent book. . . . Leavitt’s carefully crafted account of the life of Typhoid Mary provides an excellent example of the relevance of history to modern public health policy. I highly recommend it to health officials and clinicians, as well as to general readers who just like a good story-or stories.”
—Barron H. Lerner, M.D., Ph.D., American Journal of Public Health

“Strips away the demonizing mythology surrounding Typhoid Mary, transforming the catchphrase into a person the reader can feel for.”
—Blake Eskin, The Boston Phoenix Literary Supplement

“Resurrecting forgotten history, Leavitt raises an alarm that is much needed in this day of AIDS.”
—Publishers Weekly