Hives of Sickness: Public Health and Epidemics in New York City

Marc Notes: A publication of the Museum of the City of New York--Page facing t.p.; Includes bibliographical references and index. Publisher Marketing: An 1865 report on public health in New York painted a grim picture of "high brick blocks and closely-packed houses . . . literally hives of sickness" propagating epidemics of cholera, smallpox, typhoid, typhus, and yellow fever, which swept through the whole city. In this stimulating collection of essays, nine historians of American medicine explore New York's responses to its public health crises from colonial times to the present. The essays illustrate the relationship between the disease environment of New York and changes in housing, population, social conditions, and the success of medical science, linking such factors to New York's experiences with smallpox, polio, and AIDS. The volume is essential reading for anyone interested in American public health and the social history of New York. The volume is essential reading for anyone interested in American public health and the social history of New York. The contributors are Ronald Bayer, Elizabeth Blackmar, Gretchen A. Condran, Elizabeth Fee, Daniel M. Fox, Evelynn M. Hammonds, Alan M. Kraut, Judith Walzer Leavitt, and Naomi Rogers. David Rosner is a professor of history at Baruch College and The Graduate School of the City University of New York. Robert R. Macdonald is the director of the Museum of the City of New York. Contributor Bio:  Rosner, David Linda Carroll has been a nationally respected health writer for seventeen years. While covering a broad range of health topics for MSNBC.com and "The New York Times", she has developed a specialized expertise in brain science. As an MSNBC.com contract writer for the past ten years, Carroll has done everything from investigative reporting to column writing for the Internet's leading news website. She was the MSNBC.com women's health columnist for five years. She has also written investigative pieces for "Health" and "SmartMoney", and in-depth health and medical articles for "Newsday "and the "Los Angeles Times".