What do You think about The Speckled Monster: A Historical Tale Of Battling Smallpox (2004)?
I would actually give this 2 1/2 stars if I could. A timely read considering the H1N1 flu epidemic, this book traces the difficult path to acceptance of smallpox inoculation (which is slightly different from vaccination, because inoculation used live smallpox matter, not the less serious cowpox virus) in both England and Colonial Boston. In England, it traces Lady Mary Wortley Montagu (who I know only as an author) as she learns about inoculation during her husband's time as ambassador to Turkey and then spreads the controversial practice among the upper class of London upon her return. In Boston, we follow Zabdiel Boylston (who I know only as a Boston street name) as he learns about the practice from African slaves and attempts to gain acceptance for its use. Both faced enormous resistance, including personal attacks, in their efforts to spread the use of the life-saving practice (smallpox killed 1 in 8 that it infected). Where the book gets lost is in its overly long exposition and dizzying array of minor players who simply can't be kept track of (quite possibly there were hundreds). A closer focus on the two major real-life characters would have tightened up the prose considerably. The good news is that smallpox has been eradicated.
—Kristine
I learned a lot from this book: history, medicine and the lives of two courageous people, Lady Mary Wortley Montagu in England and Zabdiel Boylston in the American colonies. One thing that struck me was that people will form mobs and persecute for anything they don't fully understand - as they did with Zabdiel Boylston in Boston for innoculating those people who asked to be innoculated (mobs aren't saved only for religious differences). Another thing I learned is that medicinal history continues to repeat itself - doctors schooled in medicine are so unwilling to accept that midwives and medicine men have anything of real value to add to their 'modern' knowledge of medicine. They resisted innoculating 300 years ago, just like they resisted acupuncture and chiropractic up until the last 20 years - and innoculating has proven to be the method by which thousands of lives have been saved from horrific diseases. The other ironic thing I've noticed is how many people who are into 'alternative' medicine for their families strongly resist having their children vaccinated - if they only knew that innoculating against diseases first started with the 'alternative' medicine world, and that it took them years and years to finally be accepted into the 'mainstream' medicine world! Great historical story!
—Yvonne
I couldn't put this book down. Although a history book, it was written by a literature professor and reads like a novel. This is the story of the two people--Lady Mary in London and Dr. Boylston (with Cotton Mather's help)in Boston--who in 1721 each began experiments in smallpox innoculation as learned from the Turks and their African slaves. Despite great personnal hardship and danger, they ultimately helped prove that the vacine, although dangerous was much less so than catching smallpox the normal way. Carrell brings the settings and the people alive so that they seem to be neighbors rather than historical figures. Her "footnote" essays at the end of the book provide details on where she got the information for her well researhed account, what was true, what was altered and how she came to her conclusions. A fantastic read.
—Margo Brooks
