Black Death at the Golden Gate, 9780393609455
Hardcover
Racism, denial, and plague threaten San Francisco’s survival at the Golden Gate.

Black Death at the Golden Gate

the race to save america from the bubonic plague

$40.80

  • Hardcover

    304 pages

  • Release Date

    6 June 2019

Check Delivery Options

Summary

Black Death at the Golden Gate: A City’s Fight Against Plague and Prejudice

For Chinese immigrant Wong Chut King, life in San Francisco was lived in the shadows. His death on March 6, 1900, would have gone unnoticed if not for a city health officer’s discovery of a telltale sign: a swollen black lymph node, marking bubonic plague. Fuelled by racist pseudoscience, officials quarantined Chinatown as doctors sought confirmation of the deadly bacteria. The stakes were immense: failure m…

Book Details

ISBN-13:9780393609455
ISBN-10:0393609456
Author:David K. Randall
Publisher:WW Norton & Co
Imprint:WW Norton & Co
Format:Hardcover
Number of Pages:304
Release Date:6 June 2019
Weight:539g
Dimensions:244mm x 163mm x 28mm
What They're Saying

Critics Review

“This story of an epidemic that wasn’t is a gripping historical mystery and a key cautionary tale for our own time.”

“David K. Randall has created a meticulously researched history that unfolds like a thriller. I raced through this book in two days (horribly, the span of time it took bubonic plague to fell a victim). The unlikely heroes—bacteriologists and public health officers with long, flowing beards—battle villains most vile: racism, rotten politics, disregard for science, and Yersinia pestis. Black Death at the Golden Gate is both a page-turner and a cautionary tale: Those villains still lurk.” – Mary Roach“Randall’s account is pacy and gripping. And his examination of the conflicts, prejudices and priorities involved make for sober reading in a world where Ebola clinics are being torched and anti-vaccination movements threaten a resurgence in diseases such as measles.” – Nature

About The Author

David K. Randall

David K. Randall is the New York Times best-selling author of four books, including Dreamland and Black Death at the Golden Gate. His writing has appeared in the New York Times, Wall Street Journal, and elsewhere. A senior reporter at Reuters, he lives in Montclair, New Jersey.

Returns

This item is eligible for free returns within 30 days of delivery. See our returns policy for further details.