Black Death at the Golden Gate: The Race to Save America from the Bubonic Plague by David K. RandallMy rating: 5 of 5 stars
In March, 1900, a man who immigrated from China to San Francisco died as a result of the bubonic plague. San Francisco officials did all they could to make light of the plague in their city by first denying its existence there, and then by vilifying the health officers who came to try to rid the city of it.
Dr. federal health officer Rupert Blue was sent to San Francisco to deal with the outbreak, and he spent the next several years doing just that, not only in San Francisco, but in other areas of California and the country as a whole.
As I read this book, I was struck by the two extremes--one of denial and failure to take action--and the other of a tenacious man who was driven to eradicate the plague at great cost to his personal life and physical health. The other aspect of this book I found compelling was the blatant racism shown to Chinese and Asian immigrants. It's one thing to read about it in the abstract, and quite another to experience the truth of it.
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