Recommendations based on The American Plague: The Untold Story of Yellow Fever, the Epidemic That Shaped Our Historyby Molly Caldwell Crosby

* statistically, based on millions of data-points provided by fellow humans

  1. The Great Influenza: The Story of the Deadliest Pandemic in History

    by John M. Barry
    Chronicling the 1918 influenza pandemic, examining the medical, social and governmental responses.

    At the height of WWI, history’s most lethal influenza virus erupted in an army camp in Kansas, moved east with American troops, then exploded, killing as many as 100 million people worldwide. It ... (Goodreads)

  2. The Ghost Map: The Story of London's Most Terrifying Epidemic—and How It Changed Science, Cities, and the Modern World

    by Steven Johnson
    The discovery of the source of a cholera outbreak in London and its implications for modern science and urban living.

    From Steven Johnson, the dynamic thinker routinely compared to James Gleick, Dava Sobel, and Malcolm Gladwell, The Ghost Map is a riveting page-turner about a real-life historical hero, Dr. John ... (Goodreads)

  3. The Hot Zone: The Terrifying True Story of the Origins of the Ebola Virus

    by Richard Preston
    An exploration of the discovery and containment of one of world's deadliest viruses.

    A highly infectious, deadly virus from the central African rain forest suddenly appears in the suburbs of Washington, D.C. There is no cure. In a few days 90 percent of its victims are dead. A secret ... (Goodreads)

  4. The Demon in the Freezer

    by Richard Preston
    A journalist investigates the dark world of bioterrorism and the search for a cure.

    The first major bioterror event in the United States-the anthrax attacks in October 2001-was a clarion call for scientists who work with “hot” agents to find ways of protecting civilian populations ... (Goodreads)

  5. Spillover: Animal Infections and the Next Human Pandemic

    by David Quammen
    An exploration of zoonotic diseases, how animal infections spread and threaten human life.

    "[Mr. Quammen] is not just among our best science writers but among our best writers, period." —Dwight Garner,, New York Times, The next big human pandemic—the next disease cataclysm, perhaps on the ... (Barnes & Noble)

  6. And the Band Played On: Politics, People, and the AIDS Epidemic

    by Randy Shilts
    A history of the AIDS epidemic and its impact on the world, politics, and individuals.

    By the time Rock Hudson's death in 1985 alerted all America to the danger of the AIDS epidemic, the disease had spread across the nation, killing thousands of people and emerging as the greatest ... (Goodreads)

  7. Kisses from Katie

    by Katie Davis
    A young woman's journey of faith, service, and love in the slums of Uganda.

    What would cause an eighteen-year-old old senior class president and homecoming queen from Nashville, Tennessee, to disobey and disappoint her parents by forgoing college, break her little brother’s ... (Goodreads)

  8. Three Cups of Tea: One Man's Mission to Promote Peace ... One School at a Time

    by Greg Mortenson
    A man's mission to build schools in remote areas of Pakistan and Afghanistan to promote peace.

    The astonishing, uplifting story of a real-life Indiana Jones and his humanitarian campaign to use education to combat terrorism in the Taliban’s backyard Anyone who despairs of the individual’s ... (Goodreads)

  9. Left to Tell: Discovering God Amidst the Rwandan Holocaust

    by Immaculée Ilibagiza
    True story of a woman's faith and resilience in the face of the Rwandan genocide.

    Immaculee Ilibagiza grew up in a country she loved, surrounded by a family she cherished. But in 1994 her idyllic world was ripped apart as Rwanda descended into a bloody genocide. Immaculee’s family ... (Goodreads)

  10. Half Broke Horses

    by Jeannette Walls
    A novel based on the life of the author's grandmother, Lily Casey Smith, a resilient and adventurous woman who overcomes numerous obstacles in the American West.

    Jeannette Walls's memoir The Glass Castle was "nothing short of spectacular" (Entertainment Weekly). Now, in Half Broke Horses, she brings us the story of her grandmother, told in a first-person ... (Goodreads)

  11. Mountains Beyond Mountains: The Quest of Dr. Paul Farmer, a Man Who Would Cure the World

    by Tracy Kidder
    A story of one man's journey to fight poverty, illness, and injustice around the world.

    At the center of Mountains Beyond Mountains stands Paul Farmer. Doctor, Harvard professor, renowned infectious-disease specialist, anthropologist, the recipient of a MacArthur "genius" grant, ... (Goodreads)

  12. Destiny of the Republic: A Tale of Madness, Medicine and the Murder of a President

    by Candice Millard
    The riveting story of the assassination of President Garfield, a tragedy of medical science and mistake.

    James A. Garfield was one of the most extraordinary men ever elected president. Born into abject poverty, he rose to become a wunderkind scholar, a Civil War hero, and a renowned and admired ... (Goodreads)

  13. The Spirit Catches You and You Fall Down: A Hmong Child, Her American Doctors, and the Collision of Two Cultures

    by Anne Fadiman
    Exploring the cultural divide between the Hmong people and the medical establishment.

    Lia Lee was born in 1982 to a family of recent Hmong immigrants, and soon developed symptoms of epilepsy. By 1988 she was living at home but was brain dead after a tragic cycle of misunderstanding, ... (Goodreads)

  14. The Warmth of Other Suns: The Epic Story of America's Great Migration

    by Isabel Wilkerson
    An exploration of the life-changing journeys of the millions of African-Americans who migrated from the South to the North, Midwest, and West from 1915 to 1970.

    In this epic, beautifully written masterwork, Pulitzer Prize–winning author Isabel Wilkerson chronicles one of the great untold stories of American history: the decades-long migration of black ... (Goodreads)

  15. Isaac's Storm: A Man, a Time, and the Deadliest Hurricane in History

    by Erik Larson
    Story of the 1900 Galveston hurricane, and one man's desperate struggle to save his city.

    September 8, 1900, began innocently in the seaside town of Galveston, Texas. Even Isaac Cline, resident meteorologist for the U.S. Weather Bureau failed to grasp the true meaning of the strange ... (Goodreads)

  16. Henry VIII: The King and His Court

    by Alison Weir
    A detailed account of the life and reign of Henry VIII, focusing on his court and the people who surrounded him.

    Henry VIII, renowned for his command of power and celebrated for his intellect, presided over one of the most magnificent–and dangerous–courts in Renaissance Europe. Never before has a detailed, ... (Goodreads)

  17. Hillbilly Elegy: A Memoir of a Family and Culture in Crisis

    by J.D. Vance
    An exploration of the struggles of working-class Americans, and the power of family and culture to shape one's life.

    Hillbilly Elegy is a passionate and personal analysis of a culture in crisis—that of white working-class Americans. The disintegration of this group, a process that has been slowly occurring now for ... (Goodreads)

  18. The Children of Henry VIII

    by Alison Weir
    An exploration of the lives and fortunes of Henry VIII's six children.

    At his death in 1547, King Henry VIII left four heirs to the English throne: his only son, the nine-year-old Prince Edward; the Lady Mary, the adult daughter of his first wife, Catherine of Aragon; ... (Goodreads)

  19. Etched in Sand: A True Story of Five Siblings Who Survived an Unspeakable Childhood on Long Island

    by Regina Calcaterra
    True story of five siblings who survive abuse and neglect, finding strength to rise above their circumstances.

    #1 International Bestseller Regina’s Calcaterra memoir,, Etched in Sand, is an inspiring and triumphant coming-of-age story of tenacity and hope.,, Regina Calcaterra is a successful lawyer, former ... (Barnes & Noble)

  20. Eisenhower: Soldier and President

    by Stephen E. Ambrose
    A comprehensive biography of Dwight D. Eisenhower, from his military career to his presidency.

    Stephen E. Ambrose draws upon extensive sources, an unprecedented degree of scholarship, and numerous interviews with Eisenhower himself to offer the fullest, richest, most objective rendering yet of ... (Goodreads)

  21. Frozen in Time: An Epic Story of Survival and a Modern Quest for Lost Heroes of World War II

    by Mitchell Zuckoff
    A gripping account of a WWII aircrew's crash and subsequent survival, and a modern-day investigation into the tragedy.

    Frozen in Time is a gripping true story of survival, bravery, and honor in the vast Arctic wilderness during World War II, from Mitchell Zuckoff, the author of New York Times bestseller Lost in ... (Barnes & Noble)

  22. American Fire: Love, Arson, and Life in a Vanishing Land

    by Monica Hesse
    True crime story of a couple's arson spree in rural Virginia and the community's response. A portrait of a struggling small town.

    Shocked by a five-month arson spree that left rural Virginia reeling, Washington Post reporter Monica Hesse drove down to Accomack County to cover the trial of Charlie Smith, who pled guilty to ... (Goodreads)

  23. Wesley the Owl: The Remarkable Love Story of an Owl and His Girl

    by Stacey O'Brien
    A remarkable story of an owl's unconditional love and the bond between a woman and her beloved pet.

    When biologist Stacey O'Brien first met a four-day-old baby barn owl with nerve damage in one wing, she knew he had no hope of surviving on his own in the wild, so gave him a permanent home living ... (Goodreads)

  24. The Coming Plague: Newly Emerging Diseases in a World Out of Balance

    by Laurie Garrett
    A comprehensive study of the emergence and spread of infectious diseases, and the global response to them.

    A, New York Times, bestseller The definitive account of the infectious diseases threatening humanity by Pulitzer Prize –winning investigative journalist Laurie Garrett "Prodigiously researched . . . ... (Barnes & Noble)

  25. Guns, Germs, and Steel: The Fates of Human Societies

    by Jared Diamond
    Tracing the origins of human civilizations through the lens of geography, technology, and biology.

    "Diamond has written a book of remarkable scope ... one of the most important and readable works on the human past published in recent years." Winner of the Pulitzer Prize and a national bestseller: ... (Goodreads)

  26. Eleanor of Aquitaine: A Life

    by Alison Weir
    Biography of a medieval queen and her legacy, exploring her remarkable life and impact.

    In this beautifully written biography, Alison Weir paints a vibrant portrait of a truly exceptional woman and provides new insights into her intimate world. Renowned in her time for being the most ... (Goodreads)

  27. The Suspicions of Mr. Whicher

    by Kate Summerscale
    A gripping true-crime story centred around the mysterious murder of a young boy.

    The dramatic story of the real-life murder that inspired the birth of modern detective fiction. In June of 1860 three-year-old Saville Kent was found at the bottom of an outdoor privy with his throat ... (Goodreads)

  28. Personal History

    by Katharine Graham
    A memoir recounting the life and career of a pioneering female journalist and business leader.

    In lieu of an unrevealing Famous-People-I-Have-Known autobiography, the owner of the Washington Post has chosen to be remarkably candid about the insecurities prompted by remote parents and a ... (Goodreads)

  29. The Oregon Trail: A New American Journey

    by Rinker Buck
    Exploration of 1800s America through the lens of a modern-day wagon journey.

    In the bestselling tradition of Bill Bryson and Tony Horwitz, Rinker Buck's "The Oregon Trail" is a major work of participatory history: an epic account of traveling the 2,000-mile length of the ... (Goodreads)

  30. My Own Country: A Doctor's Story

    by Abraham Verghese
    A doctor's journey of medical care given to AIDS patients in small-town America.

    My Own Country traces the story of a young infectious-disease physician in the mid-80s in Johnson City, Tennessee , who began to treat patients with a then unknown disease. Because of the seemingly ... (Wikipedia)