Typhoid Mary: An Urban Historical by Anthony Bourdain

Typhoid Mary: An Urban Historical Reviews

• 
  Melissa

  At first, I really enjoyed it. He had chapter titles like "Typhoid Sucks" He was tellilng history with wit, humor, and personality. And then he made, what to me at least, was a glaring error. He started talking about the 1900 Chicago World's Fair. There was no World's Fair in Chicago in 1900. There was one in 1893 and 1933. In 1900 (and I looked it up, because I was pissed), the only World's Fair was in Paris. France, not Texas. And though this is a fairly minor error, it is the kind that's fairly easy to check. So, I became a little suspicious of the rest of the book. He didn't do a terrible job, but it wasn't fabulous either. Not a bad effort to get people interested in history (and I always enjoy efforts at popular history), and it had a good "further reading" list. But it's not getting promoted to my bookshelf and instead, is headed back to half price books.
  
• 
  Dee Arr

  Without a doubt, one can find other books on the subject of Typhoid Mary, but would be hard-pressed to find one examining Mary Mallon from the same angle chosen by author Anthony Bourdain. Early in the book, Mr. Bourdain tells us he has chosen to approach this subject differently, and explains his intentions to tell the story of “…a proud cook…who at the outset, at least, found herself utterly screwed by forces she neither understood nor had the ability to control.” To that end, he has been successful.
  
  Other than hearing the name Typhoid Mary, I had no idea of the person who had earned this title. The author supplied plenty of background information, not only of New York in the early 20th century, but also the history of women (and Irish women in particular). Through the efforts of Mr. Bourdain, readers become familiar with the motivations of Mary Mallon and gain an understanding of her responses to the situation she was forced to face.
  
  This book is an interesting sliver of history combined with a partial biography of a woman who found herself forever cast as a purveyor of sickness and death. Anthony Bourdain has humanized this story while educating readers at the same time. Five stars.
  
• 
  Sarah Fisher

  Who knew Anthony Bourdain wrote a history book? This was a highly enjoyable quick read but let's get a few things straight.
  
  Anthony Bourdain is a cook who writes books about cooking, traveling and murder mystery things (haven't read those). So this is quite the departure.
  
  This book is NOT for people looking for an indepth study about typhoid mary. This book is NOT for people looking for a deep analysis and a completely comprehensive storyline.
  
  I knew nothing about typhoid Mary so it was all new to me. Anthony Bourdain's writing style is particularly on in this book with his snarky remarks. Yes, he is repetitive. He always has been repetitive. Watch his show. The more he repeats, the more passionate he is about that topic. Basically, you can't separate this history book from the author of Kitchen Confidential.
  
  A lot of his account is speculative but as he states, what real reliable source is there? He simply takes what evidence there is and shows you how he sees it. I love how in the intro he mentioned something snarky about the traditional historical approach to this story and to the modern revisionist/feminist approach. Because, what is this if not revisionist in nature? He's not taking a feminist standpoint but he is taking a cook standpoint and trying to get into the psyche of Mary Mallon instead of dehumanizing her as a killer her like early reports.
  
  Actually, I'd like to see the feminist commentary on this case. After all, so many accounts of her talk about her brutish nature, manly characteristic, and strength, in a way that builds the case against her.
• 
  Valerity (Val)

  I wanted to check out this book on Typhoid Mary after I saw it is written by none other than the Travel Channel's Anthony Bourdain. I forgot he was the author once I started reading it, and just enjoyed it for itself on the subject. It seemed to have more background and detail than anything else I'd read about Mary Marron previously.
  
  Thanks to the eagle-eyed reviewers who caught that he got the date of the World's Fair wrong in it. Makes one wonder what other errors of fact there may be, hmmm.
  
• 
  Katy

  What a tragic but interesting story! This book is well written from the perspective of the descriptive nature of the people...the characters and the general population, as well as the historical background and events. This no doubt is from the perspective of a cook!
  The author starts by telling you the premise of the story, the fact that little evidence can explain or support or deny what took place then he offers the backdrop against which the judgements of the time are given.
  He delves into the potato famine in Ireland leading to mass exodus of immigrants arriving in America, the jobs available to them and in particular to women. He speaks of the good times, the nouveau riches and their extravagant ways.
  He moves into the treatment of women at the time and the era of the new woman. All of this somewhat providing an explanation of the treatment given to Mary Mallon.
  He then takes it to a more personal level, to Mary, who is a cook. He delivers great descriptions of the life and time of cooks, the importance of food in this era, it’s measure of wealth, and he serves it all up as an exquisitely prepared meal!
  This is no hamburger helper dish ( no disrespect intended), but if it were the presentation makes it unrecognizable... I’m a foodie at heart and loved the too numerous to mention references through the book and how easily he related the background to the facts.
  Nonetheless it is a tragic story on many fronts, and while other reviews have pointed out historical faux pas , those cannot take away from the point that Mr. Bourdain was attempting to make. .. and he did so with great success!
• 
  Laura Grable

  I first read this book in college. I did not know who Anthony Bourdain was at the time, so I probably didn't fully appreciate his viewpoint as a fellow cook. I remember that I did appreciate the approach of book as a more modern take on non-ficton. As a stressed out college student, I probably also appreciated that the book was small and a quick read.
  
  However, upon second reading, the 150ish pages don't seem to offer a ton of fact regarding Mary Mallon, the woman who became known as Typhoid Mary. It was interesting to learn about Mary's history and the mishandling of her case, but it seems like there was too little known about her to go into great detail, so Bourdain filled the rest of the book with speculative ramblings about how she probably would have felt. I would have appreciated this book more if he would have stuck to the facts and injected his personality only in the language, not in the story-telling. I would have rather drawn my own conclusions about Mary (whom he clearly sympathizes with) and Dr. Sopher (whom he seems to loathe).
  
  Overall, I do feel bad for Mary. She was universially associated with illness, quarantined from the world, and probably ill-informed about the reasons for her captivity. However, I can't completely forgive her. She was repeatedly told she was spreading disease, that she shouldn't cook, and that she needed to maintain better hygiene. There is no evidence that she took any of those things to heart. Unforunately, her record proves that she was unable to take the necessary precautions and continued to be a threat to those around her. It sucks that she was a typhoid carrier who happened to be good at cooking, but she still killed multiple people and made many sick. I think it is good for Bourdain to get her story out there, but I don't come away from this book sharing all his sympathies.
• 
  Paul

  There seems to be a discrepancy as to what sort of book this is, which would account for the low ratings. This book is not a scholarly work, nor was it meant for academic purposes. You will not find it with heavy citations, nor pages of notes. It is primarily an anecdotal account of an infamous cook, which many know very little about.
  
  This book is for Bourdain fans, and the general layperson, wanting to know a little about a (small) historical figure. I appreciated the way Bourdain wove historical documentation with a plausible account of the time period; the state of healthcare and sanitation, food preparation, societal indulgences and extravagances.
  
  Aside from any perceived historical inaccuracies, Bourdain is attempting to paint a realistic portrait of a woman whose entire historical existence is stringently maligned to a villainous spreader of disease. Bourdain deftly humanizes, and puts Mary Mallon into a period of time and place that may explain her behavior. The book also, as Bourdain notes at the beginning, is written from a cooking perspective, this is where he adds most of his conjecture. It seemed he was projecting a fair amount of his own culinary experiences to extrapolating it upon Mary, which could be both incisive and inaccurate. But at the same time, personalizes a figure of almost mythological status.
  
  In this way however, this book is successful, and it fulfilled all that I expected from a 150 page book from a traveling culinary author. In comparison to a seasoned historical book writer like Erik Larson, Bourdain’s inexperience shows. However, this does not discount its merits and the enjoyment from reading Bourdain’s words.
• 
  Lindsay

  This is a quick, interesting read, but it's often distracting how often the author wants to inject himself in the story. I know, I know. It's Anthony Bourdain, so most people are probably looking for his personality, and are reading this because he is the author. However, the shtick gets tiresome, especially in the intro and epilogue. It took 4 pages before he's making fun of feminism's take on this story, and yet he presents a picture of a woman who he is clearly sympathetic towards. It's hard not to be. The story is really interesting, and most of the writing is good, which is why it's disappointing when you get pulled out of the story for him to remind you this is a manly woman, a hulking woman, a big woman, which he takes care to tell you over and over again. We get it. I feel like he's taking pains to tell you he admires her for being a true cook, which in his estimation means she's no nonsense and not too feminine, which is its own kind of misogyny. He pays lip service to sexism in the food industry, but then kind of beats you over the head with it. He should either refrain from discussing it or do it in an intelligent, nuanced way, not as a disclaimer. Anyway, it's quick if you're looking for some interesting history about a woman who is a memorable name in history, and too often doesn't have her story told. I learned a lot.
• 
  Ellen

  As a factual account, this book frustrated me a great deal, because it's really such an overview into the topic. Granted, Bourdain's interest in Mary Mallon stems from his experience as a cook (and he riffs on this topic continually) -- I simply wanted a deeper factual account (and make sure the facts are correct, please -- there are some glaring errors in the book!). The idea of a cook of his caliber writing about Typhoid Mary is brilliant, but I think he could have developed these ideas in the book to a much greater degree.
  
  Bottom line, read "Kitchen Confidential" if you've never read anything written by Bourdain. It remains one of my favorite books, one that I would happily re-read any time.
• 
  Meg

  Color me surprised that Anthony Bourdain (who I've only been tangentially aware of as a chef and food personality) of all people could put together what has to be one of the more illuminating histories on this oft (and incorrectly) maligned woman that I've ever read.
  
  I think it's because Bourdain comes at this not from a "I'm going to write the authoritative work on this" standpoint but from a "wow, I really can sympathize with this woman in a lot of ways, because we have something major in common" standpoint that it works so well.
  
  Bourdain uses his background as a chef and someone who's worked into many, many kitchens to shed light on Mary Mallon the human being. He has a common sense, no-frills approach to explaining why she did what she did and that there's a reality to being a low wage worker who's task it is to ceaselessly make food for other people. There's a point where Bourdain talks about how when you're working in these kitchens and you're tired and cranky and yet full of pride that you start doing things like *not* washing your hands or letting food fall on the floor only to pick it up, dust it off and stick it on someone's plate, where you even start to resent your customers. None of it is malice, but is all a part of the weariness and frustration of working in hot, crowded places.
  
  Thus, Bourdain lays out a narrative not of a vicious killer or of a totally 100% innocent victim, but of a stubborn woman who lived in a time where her ethnic origins, her physical build, and her position in life put her in a place to be made a villain when she wasn't one at all. Mallon becomes rather sympathetic when you consider that her life was invaded by these people screaming about typhoid, people who wanted to unearth everything from the fact that she lived with a man she wasn't married to (scandalous even for a woman of the Irish working class in NYC) to wanting to poke and prod and take samples of her feces. Bourdain shows that Mallon reacted not in malice but in disgust, horror, and wounded pride that her privacy was stripped from her like this.
  
  Take a moment to imagine how you'd feel if you'd spent your life building a reputation as a good cook and you'd put in years and years of hard, tedious work and someone not only came around saying you were a plague carrier but wanted to examine intimate and embarrassing parts of your life and body. I mean, imagine if some person you didn't know, some random doctor (not your doctor, not someone you trust or went to) came around and said, "I'd like to watch you take a shit and then collect some of it for testing".
  
  You're telling me you'd have exactly zero compunction? Especially if you'd been raised in an environment that was very prudish about the body and all it's functions?
  
  Bourdain also makes sure to show that the number of "victims" (or people who caught typhoid) from Mary Mallon is quite low and so is the death toll. The sensationlistic coverage of Mallon's case both in her own time and later has tended to keep attaching bodies to her name when there's no reason and no evidence for it.
  
  He also lays out a narrative that I find incredibly believable of overeager officials and a city full of prejudice and a science that was still relatively new.
  
  I really recommend this books. It's a fascinating read and an approach to the subject I haven't really seen done before.
• 
  Sarah

  I'm not exactly sure how I felt about the tone with this, but it was interesting. If we're to believe our author all cooks are arrogant and prideful, which I don't believe. I also don't particularly like the whole 'she infected people with typhoid but look, she was a cook so here is why that's okay...' tone it had. I do feel she was treated badly but she seems to have been very aware of what was happening and didn't much care. It was a messy situation that was handled poorly on all sides.
  The book itself, like I said, was interesting and put a different spin on it worth considering for those who want to try it.
• 
  Rebecca

  This had some interesting historical information in it on cooks in general and 1800s Irish women in particular, but Bourdain's approach was definitely biased. He seemed to start with the idea that Mary, as a cook, was innocent and every public health official she came in contact with was evil and incompetent at their job.
  
  I had to stop 50% of the way through the book -- I just couldn't trust anything I was reading.
• 
  Melissa

  I am not a foodie, and this is my first Anthony Bourdain read, but it won’t be my last. I loved this non-fiction read, he infuses his knowledge of cooking and the culture of the kitchen into this history, and the fusion of the two makes for a witty insider viewpoint into this historical tragedy.
  
  *I’d recommend this to fans of Sarah Vowell’s histories.
• 
  Jo

  Bourdain looks at the life of the Irish woman who came to be known as Typhoid Mary due to her being a carrier of the disease and infecting the people she worked for. It was interesting up to a certain point but there is very little known about the woman. As a biography this was only really good for a brief overview of Mary and the times she lived in.
• 
  Laurie Carlson

  This was a book I picked up about a month or so ago just to read for myself out of curiosity. It was very enlightening. I sure had shock value from this book! It sure makes you NOT want to go out to eat in ANY restaurant or at least a restaurant that did not serve cooked food, for that matter! I think I'll pass, or at least I will for a little while!
  I happened to have grandparents who were 'germophones'. They really would lovingly joke around and call me 'Typhoid Mary' if I had a cold or sounded like I had a cold, and the unspoken word from the time I was little was not to go over their house, or anywhere near them if I thought I was sick. Since I knew Mary was a contagious person, and that was a clue my grandparents did not want me to come around them until I was better! I knew it had to do with their worrying I was contagious and they didn't want to catch what I had, but that was about all I knew about Typhoid Mary, which is another reason I wanted to read this book.
  This book explains it is the uncooked food that had the Typhoid in it, and not the cooked food, unless the cooked food was handled afterwards by a Typhoid 'carrier', and someone sneezed on it, or touches it with their hands that have bodily fluids on them. (Gross!)
  She was not sick one day in her life, but she was a carrier of Typhoid, and every time she was accused of spreading Typhoid, she had a nit-fit! She demanded she did NOT have Typhoid or else she would have been sick herself with it at some point in her life and she was not.
  One of the huge dishes Mary made that was verified to have Typhoid in it was her famous peach ice cream everyone loved. Of the people who did come down with Typhoid, they 'did' eat their favorite favorite peach ice cream she did make. Also, there is salad, and potato salad which most of us know the potatoes were cooked, but with potato salad, you need to mix it into a type of sauce with a mayonnaise based sauce which is never reheated from there. (The book did not include the potato dish, but I'm just giving an example of a cooked food that is still not yet finished being made and how it can carry the Typhoid.) It is ANY uncooked food. It is the uncooked foods that were and still are the main culprit of the spread of Typhoid, or ANY contagious disease for that matter.
  Typhoid is still around, but today it can be treated with antibiotics, although there are some strains that are antibiotic resistant, as many diseases seem to be today. This is the hesitation of doctors to prescribe antibiotics. Heck, with the side effects of them, I would rather skip them if I can. I have not died, yet! LOL! If needed, though, I would take them, but only in that instance.
  This book really opened my eyes! Typhoid can make you very sick or even kill you if people don't do the basics of hygiene, such as washing your hands after using the bathroom, sneezing into a Kleenex or into your elbow, (I love how the Pre-school classes my kids went to taught the children to sneeze into their elbows leaving their hands clean!) or staying home from work when they are sick. Although, how many jobs in the United States allow us sick time to stay home when not feeling well? Not many. My husband gets zero sick days, so he 'does' go to work when ill, and this last cold that went around practically had him in bed, in fact, he probably should have stayed home a few days! NO! He said he felt fine but just sounded bad. Okay, right! Seriously, what other choice do we have? If you don't go to work, you don't get paid. This was the same way back in the days of Mary.
  The problem with Mary though was she NEVER washed her hands after going to the bathroom! GROSS! She even looked dirty, her clothing and hair was unkempt, and she smelled! Just to look at her was a little sickening. Taking baths back then was a Saturday night special, IF that! For some reason people did not like water too much, and the only reason I can think of for that would have been the winter months? As for myself, give me my daily shower, thank you!!
  Mary was institutionalized several times. Several times she was let out while making the promise that she would NOT return to cooking. Did she return to cooking? YES! Thus, she did spread MORE Typhoid!
  It is amazing how many times Mary was taken into custody after another family would break out in Typhoid. One really neat part was a letter Mary wrote. She still, after all that time, did not believe she was a carrier and did not carry Typhoid, although, the last time she escaped and cooked at a residence, the family did break out, the government interceded again, and she knew that time! They did do a LOT of invasive testing. A lot more invasive testing than I would have stood for! Face it, though, most of us if told we were carriers of a disease would accept it, but she would not. She was probably one of the most stubborn women of the times.
  Near her age of about forty-nine, she was finally taken to retire to an island by boat and given a house to live in alone. It was only her, until she met a man who turned out to eventually be her husband. This book made no mention as to whether or not he got Typhoid or how long he lived with her there. The house was provided for her to be able to read, crochet, or sew as much or as little as she wanted to.
  Yes, this book repeated a few things many times, and yes, even though this 160 page book seemed LONG at times, it did cover a lot. The amount of research this author did was outstanding, though. He had dates, locations, everything you needed to know about Mary in this book. I give him a lot of credit for that! He even visited the places mentioned in the book! He felt he put in so much time researching this book, the least he could do was visit some of the places she worked and lived at. He even took a boat ride to try to see the house she lived in.
  I thought this was a pretty good book. As I said, and I'll say it again, it did seem a lot longer than 160 pages! The beginning went fast, but the middle kind of dragged, although I believe the middle dragged because of the research. Bourdain really got into the numbers, what they did with Mary, etc.
  I do suggest reading this book if you get a chance. It is extremely informative. If there are parts that are too long, then skip over them if need be. I read the entire book, but I have read some reviews who gave such a low rating which I felt was awful to do given the amount of research the author put into this book alone. We are talking months upon months, no doubt. I was pretty impressed. He does talk about this in the book. He did go to New York to do the research, and as I already stated, he visited some of the places she was at.
  Since I cannot stand long enough to cook an entire meal for myself and/or both myself and my husband due to the neurological muscle disease I have, I'm not into watching the TV cooking shows, so I must admit I am not familiar with who this author is! Sorry! Enjoy the book!
  *EDIT: Now I know who this author is! He is on the TV show "Parts Unknown" currently, and a few other shows here and there! We happen to enjoy that show a lot. This explains the slowness of the story, some of the repetitiveness, too. It's his cadence, the way he talks, and how he gets into the culture of food and it's story so much that it's so educational. In fact, my husband was also reading this book at the same time which I was which I did not know, and I mentioned how some people rated this book low, or thought it was slow as I did, but it turns out, and I feel my husband is right about this, is he stated he can hear Anthony talking as he is reading this book, talking the way he does on his show. I had to agree with him on that! This book takes after the author very much! Spot-on! Now knowing who this is and how he gets so into the details about food and the culture of it, it does up my rating of the book.
• 
  Xerxia

  A short book, a quick read, well-researched and engaging. This is part historical telling of the circumstances of Mary Mallon and part postulation on her life and motivations as a chef, through the lens of someone who also lived that life. And it works, Bourdain’s voice is sympathetic but not cloying, his anecdotes - both real and imagined - amusing. An enjoyable read.
• 
  Stephanie

  I can't say I really knew anything about Typhoid Mary going into this, so the complaint other reviewers have about this being light on fact doesn't really resonate with me. This is a much less Bourdain style of a book than Bourdain's usual works. I did enjoy how much he seemed to LIKE Mary, despite her flaws. Fun, fast read.
• 
  Katherine Coble

  This is an ok popular history. But it's a POPULAR history. So, not a lot of historic detail and more than a fair bit of failure to fact check. 1900 World's Fair?? Way to just make up stuff, Bourdain!
• 
  ☕Laura

  This was a quick but interesting read.
• 
  Marisa

  In a lot of ways, this book reads more like a college dissertation than a book. More than anything else, it’s a defense of Mary Mallon’s odd behavior that essentially cost numerous people their health and lives. Bourdain does bring up some fascinating contextual points that are generally overlooked in an effort to vilify Mary Mallon, but at the same time, it’s difficult to empathize too much with her, regardless of how passionately Bourdain writes.
  
  This is the first book I’ve read by Anthony Bourdain, and his writing is entertaining and captivating. Much of the book felt more like a novel than nonfiction, which isn’t a criticism at all. Overall, it was a super quick read, and I’m glad it was under Amazon’s Great on Kindle section for the amount I was redeeming a credit for.
• 
  T. J.

  Let me first say that as a cultural and food icon, I love Anthony Bourdain. His wit, his style, his love of meat and contempt for vegetarians is absolutely wonderful. His other nonfiction pieces from what I’ve read (currently working through Kitchen Confidential) seems like an extension of his, awesome, television persona.
  
  But as a historian, even a popular culture one, Mr. Bourdain is lacking. This text has factual errors, date of the Chicago World’s Fair, 1893 not 1900 (that one, I gleaned from a cursory internet search, was in Paris), writing errors and far too much supposition to even be deemed a history. (The things history, even in the most popular narratives, needs are facts and research. If there are no facts available--you have two options: one, keep looking for them in the form of primary sources; two, don’t right the effing book. It is just that simple.)
  
  In Typhoid Mary: An Urban Historical (whatever that means) has made a poorly written and ill conceived attempt to resuscitate the life and reputation of Mary Mallon. Is it a bad idea? No. Something that should be done? Maybe. But to make such a halfhearted effort is deplorable.
  
  If Mr. Bourdain wants to write essays, fiction, and cookbooks he should go for it! But if he wants to continue to write history he should probably spend a lot more time doing research, develop a bibliography that takes up a bit more than a page, and work on stringing together a lot more fact and less supposition in his narrative.  
  
  Yes, it is short, quick, easily read, and a bit interesting. No it is not a good historical document. If you are looking for information on Mary Mallon, I would recommend you read elsewhere.  
• 
  Evanston Public Library

  Anthony Bourdain, considered by some to be the bad boy of novelle cuisine, is best known for his eye-opening exposé of the restaurant business, Kitchen Confidential.That book that caused many people to think long and hard before they stepped foot in a restaurant again. Bourdain has always had food safety on his mind, or so it appears. In this slim biography of Mary Mallon, he does a pretty thorough job of telling us as much as is known about this figure from the turn of the 19th century. It's not a lot. Considering that her epithet is still used by young and old alike as a slur on any person (or product, company, etc.) who has ill effects on those around him or her, it's odd that we know so little about the actual Typhoid Mary.
  
  She was a moderately good cook, working for upper middle class families in New York City, making many ill, killing a few. She was Irish, never married, had a live-in boyfriend, and though she herself never exhibited any typhoid symptoms, and was in hale condition even into her later years, her gut was teeming with the disease. She was highly infective--a carrier in medical lingo. Bourdain's account of her treatment at the hands of authorities will shock you. Her rights were ignored, her character ruined. As a fellow cook, Bourdain is sympathetic to her fate, and waxes philosophical on the status of cooks, the conditions and contracts under which they toil, and the often downright unpleasant aspects of the career. A thought provoking book filled with a piece of history most know little about.
  
  (Barbara L., Reader's Services)
  
  
• 
  Petra

  I started reading by knowing nothing about Typhoid Mary. I came away not knowing much more but having enjoyed the book, none the less.
  There's some interesting perspective on social times and customs and beliefs, a little bit about Mary Mallon (I gather there isn't much public information known about Mary) and some interesting speculations thrown in as well.
  The author seems to have a soft spot for Mary since they are both professional cooks. He feels for her hardships, whether true or speculated, he feels a part of her world and wishes to help in some way.
  I enjoyed how the author "spoke" to the reader. Reading this book is like listening to a conversation. The author is colloquial and adds little asides that makes the narration seem more personal than stand-off-ish.
  All in all, an interesting book for an overview of the early 1900s and a mysterious case of a carrier of a disease, in a time when "carriers" were just discovered in the world of science.
• 
  Chazzi

  The title intrigued me and I was surprised to see Anthony Dourdain as the author. I only know of him from cooking shows.
  
  I knew of Typhoid Mary, but not much about her story. Bourdain writes from the cook's point of view, and gives a good picture of life in the late 1800s - early 1900s. It was not easy, no matter how you sliced it. His research and used of quotes from documents of the time help illustrate the era. Her treatment and the 'rights' given her were terrible.
  
  Bourdain's style is easy to read, yet also informative. He injects his opinion into the text, but does not make it the focal point, only a sidebar comment.
  
  If I should run across any of his other books, I will not hesitate to pick them up. A very enjoyable read.
• 
  Dawn

  A fascinating tale about a cook, told by a cook. I actually got sick while reading this. Just a cold, nothing serious. However, it made me think that, if Mary Mallon were my cook, she would probably have said something like, "Stop whining. People get sick all the time. Let me make you some of my special peach ice cream, and you'll feel better." Of course, people did get sick all the time around her, and her special peach ice cream was a likely culprit--because typhoid bacteria are likely to die in cooked foods, but her ice cream combined raw peaches with milk. Sweet, tasty, typhoid-infected yummyness. The perfect side dish for this quick, entertaining little book.
• 
  Caitlin

  Typhoid Mary was a cook.
  
  That's the lens through which Anthony Bourdain filters his telling of her story. This is a bit longer than an essay & a bit shorter than an actual book, but a fun read. I especially enjoyed the parts where he talked about cooks & cooking & about the Irish women who immigrated to America during the potato famine. Also enjoyed reading about the foodies at the time.
  
  I like Anthony Bourdain. He's smart & funny & passionate about food. He writes well, too.
  I'm positive there are more in-depth academic tomes about Typhoid Mary with oodles of footnotes & citations & 10 or 12 different theoretical perspectives, but this one was just fine.
• 
  Joe

  This quick read doesn’t reach the heights of some of Bourdain’s other work, but he does a commendable job handling a story that often wades into the waters of conjecture out of necessity. While not forgiving Mallon for continuing to cook for the public after it was quite clear that doing so put others at risk, the book shines when empathizing with its titular subject as a hardworking culinary pro on the fringes of society simply trying to get from one day to the next. And that’s the type of food writing Bourdain handles better than most anyone.
• 
  Bridget Foley

  Not sure what to say about this strange personal essay by Anthony Bourdain about Mary Mallon (Typhoid Mary). I basically enjoyed it, and perhaps learned a bit about the woman whose moniker we all know, but mostly it was Bourdain waxing poetic about what state of mind he thinks Mary might have been in to make the choices she did to continue to infect people (as a fellow chef). Strange but somewhat fun for a Kindle Deal of the Day.