Plagues in the Nation How Epidemics Shaped America

In this narrative history of the US through major outbreaks of contagious disease, from yellow fever to the Spanish flu, from HIV/AIDS to Ebola, Polly J. Price examines how law and government affected the outcome of epidemics—and how those outbreaks in turn shaped our government.
Price presents a fascinating history that has never been fully explored and draws larger conclusions about the gaps in our governmental and legal response.Plagues in the Nationexamines how our country learned—and failed to learn—how to address the panic, conflict, and chaos that are the companions of contagion, what policies failed America again and again, and what we must do better next time.