Judith Walzer Leavitt is a professor at University of Wisconsin-Madison specializing in medical history and women?s studies. Her published works include Typhoid Mary- Captive to the Public?s Health; Make Room for Daddy- The Journey from Waiting Room to Birthing Room; and Brought to Bed- Childbearing in America, 1750-1950. Leavitt studied at Antioch College and University of Chicago.
“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
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
"Meticulous research, lucid prose and extensive research. . . .
Leavitt has written the definitive book on Typhoid Mary. . . . It
is a must read." --John S. Marr, M.D., M.P.H., Infections in
Medicine
Mary Mallon was a feisty 36-year-old Irish immigrant who made her living as a cook for wealthy New York City families when she was seized, in 1907, by officers of the city's Public Health Department and detained in a cottage on North Brother Island where, except for two years, she lived in isolation for the remaining 26 years of her life. Her crime was that, although healthy herself, she was a carrier of the typhus bacillus and had innocently infected 22 people. Leavitt raises questions about this famous case: whether race, gender and class bias played a part in Mallon's detention. At the time, feelings against the Irish were strong; and she was a woman and a servant. Male carriers of the bacillus were not deprived of their livelihoods, nor were they isolated from society. The press, clamoring for a news-making story, influenced the harsh treatment of Mallon, demonizing her as "Typhoid Mary." Most important, Leavitt, a professor of medical history at the University of Wisconsin, discusses the difficult issue of serving the public good while protecting individual liberty. She suggests that instead of stigmatizing or impoverishing those who unknowingly threaten the health of the community, we treat them humanely and guarantee them economic security. Resurrecting forgotten history, Leavitt raises an alarm that is much needed in this day of AIDS. (July)
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