EDITORIAL REVIEWS
Product Description When government officials have to deal with major public health dangers, they often take excessive--even totalitarian--measures. The results of their efforts can be more damaging than any disease. This book takes the first detailed look at the hushed-up story of the L.A. bubonic plague outbreak. It's a story that's been covered up for more than 70 years.
CUSTOMER REVIEWS (Average Customer Rating: 4.5 based on 6 reviews)
Scandalously good! Mr. Feldinger is an adept and engaging story-teller, bringing to life a murderous government plot against LA's Latino community near the beginning of the 20th century. It's a non-fiction horror story. Worse, he outlines how it could easily happen again. The story may be nearly a century old, but the villains still exist today, namely government agencies and a self-serving health care system. LA city health officers willfully misdiagnosed the first cases of bubonic plague in a Latino neighborhood. They were supported and encouraged by bigoted, greedy politicians. As a result numerous lives were lost. In at least one case, nearly an entire extended family was wiped out. Their neighborhood was nearly destroyed in an effort to "cleanse" the area of the disease they denied was there- the bubonic plague. The book is a gripping account of what does happen, and what should absolutely not happen, in the case of a deadly epidemic. Feldinger breathes life back into people long dead- the villains and the heroes- of this story that has never been fully told July 20, 2008
"Heroes" over history Feldinger's book illuminates a relatively unknown outbreak of pneumonic plague in early 20th century Los Angeles. Where this book really shines is in its source scholarship and extensive quotes from primary sources. Feldinger does a good job in helping us understand how this outbreak could occur and (even more interestingly) how Los Angeles civic authorities at all levels acted in concert to keep the citizens of Los Angeles almost completely ignorant of the danger they faced. Where I think this book loses its way is in its need to find heroes and villians in a situation that could also be explained by a people acting largely in their own self intest. Early in the book, Feldinger himself admits how hard he had to look to find a "hero" in the events in question. This is not to say that the schoolteacher he ends up lionizing did not act with empathy and intelligence, but rather that once you have a hero you have to have villians. And Feldinger sees vilians everywhere from public health officials, to the city council and to businessmen who respond to the epidemic by firing all their "Mexican" labor. In trying to make his book seem current, Feldinger also litters the piece with references to Hurrican Katrina, Vietnam and quite tellingly to the Swine Flu "scare" of the 70s. I encourage the interested reader to examine the chapter on the Ford Administration's response to the Swine Flu outbreak in Laurie Garrett's "The Coming Plague" to see how much more nuanced the government's thinking was around Swine Flu than Feldinger seems to think it was. Perhaps if Feldinger had read this assessment, he might have attributed less black and white motivations to the participants. While I would have preferred a more scholarly and less journalistic approach, I recommend Feldinger's book to any reader interested in the ways people and governments react to the outbreak of a deadly disease prior to our own "information age". June 09, 2008
Time for the Truth Feldinger mines history with mordant wit, strikes the mother lode of deceit and official cover-up, and touches raw nerve in this dandy read. A journalist, Feldinger isn't out to make friends, especially of the Los Angeles Times scions. The truth is unimaginable, but the author backs up his power-packed story with considerable evidence, from both private sources and public domain. Feldinger's done his homework, and the results carry a sobering punch. This credible work profiles an event that stretches man's inhumanity to the limit. It couldn't have happened, but it did. Readers are left humbled by knowing Black Plague, hoping never to experience it. We are compelled to acknowledge mortality. The book holds interest because it speaks truth - there's no doubt the plague will return. The truth frightens but makes good reading. A primer of how not to protect a population, "A Slight Epidemic" is of a piece with sad chapters of US history and great exposes of hard journalism. Through his fine book Frank Feldinger has provided a public service. June 01, 2008
Must Read Weak, self-serving, irresponsible representatives ignore their mandate to protect the public in favor of institutional loyalty. Decades ago, a deliberate coverup cost people their lives, citizens their homes, threatened a huge swath of the population. This well-researched, impeccably written, compelling narrative is jaw-dropping. In the wake of Katrina, with the threat of a public health disaster like bird flu looming, every citizen should be aware of what happened then and how government incompetence and malfeasance threatened the lives of so many people. A must-read. May 25, 2008
Bubo Redux! Great...another egregious government cover-up, but by page two I was wishing for a bag of popcorn, instantly engaged and casting a future screenplay in my head! Corruption, control, greed and ego are disgusting traits I'd rather not attribute to my country, yet I can't help feeling ecstatic when the covers get ripped off the bed, exposing a self-righteous and fetid government mattress. Author Feldinger made me care about something unpleasant and disturbing when it would be so much easier not to notice. (This guy clearly does his homework and could turn anyone listening around a campfire into an instant mouthbreather!) His style is elegant, wry, and dignified; he seems to have great respect for his readers. I'm not sure if Feldinger writes in ink or chainsaw oil, but either way...it's mightier than the sword! Intelligent and incredibly well-paced. A terrifying must! May 20, 2008