Typhoid Mary by Anthony Bourdain

Very good "urban historical". Mary Mallon was an Irish woman who came to America for a better life and became a cook in the early 1900's. Unfortunately, she had typhoid and thus infected others through the food she cooked. Actually, cooked food killed the bacteria, but other items, such as her specialty peach ice cream which does not get heated, is what is thought to have made others sick, and some even die. She cooked for rick New York families, so it is thought she must have been an exceptional cook. Throughout the book I found myself rooting for Mary, feeling sorry for her, but ultimately she was responsible for making many people sick and not cooperating. The worst part is that she kept cooking for others even after she knew she had typhoid, even going so far as to cooking at a maternity ward where she could have infected pregnant mothers and newborn babies. She was eventually sequestered to Riverside Hospital in North Brother Island in New York, where people sick with tuberculosis and other illnesses were sent. The story takes place at a time before there were vaccines or germ fighting drugs; it was a place where most never came back to live within society. Sad story, but lots of interesting facts...an enjoyable read that caused me to wash my hands with hot soapy water every time I put it down.