Typhoid Mary

This week I read Anthony Bourdain's, "Typhoid Mary: An Urban Historical". Bourdain mainly focused on the period in Mary Mallon's life where she was identified and imprisoned based on the evidence that she was a carrier of typhoid. What I really liked about Bourdain's version of events is that he wrote it with the perspective of a fellow cook. He didn't try to excuse what she had done or villianize her, but instead tried to see the events that occured through her eyes.

I feel really bad for Mary Mallon, her entire life was ruined because of the NY Health Department, the press, and because she didn't see the need to wash her hands. The woman was such a fighter in the early years of her imprisonment, but after being set free and wandering the "wilderness" of crappy kitchens spreading typhoid wherever she went, she became a broken woman. The second time she was imprisoned she did not fight, she understood that by submitting she would get a place to live and 3 meals a day. Throughout her life Mary Mallon never admitted to or spoke of being a carrier of typhoid, only blaming the typhoid cases on coicidence.

This is a really quick read and really opens up a different perspective on the Mary Mallon story. Anyone interested in medicine and/or history should check this out. It's not an in depth historical work by any means, but it does allow the reader something different than some of the dry texts floating around out there.

If you want to read "Typhoid Mary: An Urban Historical" by Anthony Bourdain you can find it at your local library or at Barnes and Noble.