Chat with us, powered by LiveChat

American Murderer: The Parasite that Haunted the South



by
Gail Jarrow

Edition
Hardcover edition
Publisher
Astra House Publishing
Imprint
Calkins Creek
ISBN
9781684378159
POTENTIALLY SENSITIVE AREAS
Discrimination: Racial Insensitivity/Racism , Medical: Graphic Descriptions , Violence: Death
$23.57   $19.64
SEE MEMBER PRICE
QTY

JLG Category

Nonfiction Middle

What made workers in the American South so tired and feeble during the 19th and early 20th centuries? This exciting medical mystery uncovers the secrets of the parasite hookworm, commonly known as the “American Murderer,” and is the latest title in Gail Jarrow’s (YALSA Excellence in Nonfiction for Young Adults award-winning author) Medical Fiascoes series.

Imagine microscopic worms living in the soil. They enter your body through your bare feet, travel to your intestines, and stay there for years sucking your blood like vampires. You feel exhausted. You get sick easily. It sounds like a nightmare, but that’s what happened in the American South during the 1800s and early 1900s.

Doctors never guessed that hookworms were making patients ill, but zoologist Charles Stiles knew better. Working with one of the first public health organizations, he and his colleagues treated the sick and showed Southerners how to protect themselves by wearing shoes and using outhouses so that the worms didn’t spread. Although hookworm was eventually controlled in the US, the parasite remains a serious health problem throughout the world. The topic of this STEM book remains relevant and will fascinate readers interested in medicine, science, history—and gross stories about bloodsucking creatures.

Time line. Glossary. Suggested resources. Author’s note. Source notes. Bibliography. Index. Black-and-white and full-color photographs, illustrations, diagrams, and reproductions.

POTENTIALLY SENSITIVE AREAS
Discrimination: Racial Insensitivity/Racism , Medical: Graphic Descriptions , Violence: Death

Details

Format

Print

Page Count

160

Dewey

616.9

AR

0: points 0

Genre

Nonfic

Scholastic Reading Counts

0

JLG Release

Nov 2022

Book Genres

Narrative Nonfiction

Topics

Charles Wardell Stiles (1867–1941). Hookworm disease. Southern United States. Disease prevention. Nineteenth- and twentieth-century history of public health. Necator americanus. Medicine. American South. Parasites. Parasitic diseases.

Standard MARC Records

Download Standard MARC Records

Cover Art

Download Cover Art

Grades 5-8
Nonfiction Middle
For Grades 5-8

Knowledge is power, and no other category speaks to this more. The 12 books in this category range from autobiographies to anthropological studies, these nonfiction titles are just right for middle-school readers . . . and ideal for research and classroom support, too.

12 books per Year
$259.20 per Year
Interests
Clean Books,Biographies,Diversity,History,Nonfiction,Science/STEAM
Like this book?
Get more like this every month.
LEARN MORE
Grades 5-8
Nonfiction Middle
12 books per Year
$259.20 per Year

Other Recommended Titles From Nonfiction Middle

Nonfiction Middle

February 2023

Nonfiction Middle

January 2023
Copyright © 2017 Magento, Inc. All rights reserved.