The Speckled Monster: A Historical Tale of Battling Smallpox PDF

Rating: (26 reviews) Author: ISBN : Product Detai New from Format: PDF

Download for free medical books PRETITLE The Speckled Monster: A Historical Tale of Battling Smallpox POSTTITLE from 4shared, mediafire, hotfile, and mirror link

The Speckled Monster is both a hair-raising tale of courage in the face of the deadliest disease that has ever struck mankind, and a gripping account of the birth of modern immunology. Jennifer Lee Carrell's dramatic story follows two parents who, after barely surviving the agony of smallpox themselves, flouted 18th century European medical tradition by borrowing folk knowledge from African slaves and Eastern women in frantic bids to protect their children. Their heroic struggles gave rise to immunology, as well as the vaccinations that remain our only hope should the disease be unleashed again. Carrell transports readers back to the early 18th century to tell the tales of Lady Mary Wortley Montagu and Dr. Zabdiel Boylston: two iconoclastic figures who helped save London and Boston from this scourge.

Direct download links available for PRETITLE The Speckled Monster: A Historical Tale of Battling Smallpox [Unabridged] [Audible Audio Edition] POSTTITLE

• Product Details
• Table of Contents
• Reviews

• Audible Audio Edition
• Listening Length: 19 hours and 43 minutes
• Program Type: Audiobook
• Version: Unabridged
• Publisher: Random House Audio
• Audible.com Release Date: May 22, 2012
• Language: English
• ASIN: B008563RFG

The Speckled Monster: A Historical Tale of Battling Smallpox PDF

Overall, this book is rather interesting. However, there are some aspects of the book that I think are poor and I am surprised that others failed to mention them.

First, we'll start off with the negetive aspects. First and foremost, the book dips in and out from intimate nearness to the characters to cold, infomational-type explaining. I generally feel little toward the characters and am impatient with the inconsistancy. Carrell seems to have trouble with balancing fascinating, animated narrating and dry narration.

Also, her organization is lacking. The weaving of story and information of the era etc proves clumsy and rough. Though never really confusing, it is often inconvenient to the reader. I enjoy the historical, informational parts, I simply wish they were better integrated into the overall story.

The last negetive aspect is her akward grammer. I noticed an alarming amount of improper or incorrect sentences. It doesn't harm in the way of conveying the message, but it often stumbles the reader and forces them to re-read and ponder over the mistakes.

On to the positive aspects. This book is quite fascinating, to put it bluntly. I have read many medical novels or accounts on smallpox, but this is the first historical novel I have been lucky enough to read. It is rife with historical information (obviously), such as the royalty at the time, who died of smallpox that is of importance to the story, conditions at that time, fasion, etc. I am pleased at her attempt to relay the infomation in an interesting, colorful way by making it into a tale instead of a simply narration. It is also unique in that it presents two different individuals' history of smallpox.

Not only is it interesting, but hey, it provides photos.

The Speckled Monster is an unwieldy beast of a book. One part history lesson, one part multilayered drama, Jennifer Carrell uses painstaking research to recreate the tale of the devastating scourge of smallpox and two unsung heroes, Lady Mary Wortley Montagu and Dr. Zabdiel Boylston, who battled substantial social opposition to save their cities from the deadly scourge. The story details the horrors of smallpox through the interweaving tales of these two protagonists, starting off with a glimpse into the London high life of Lady Mary Wortley. From there it goes on to establish the upbringing of Dr. Zabdiel Boylston and his rise into the role of maverick surgeon in Boston. The rest of the book sees these two tales intertwining, providing historical and intimate perspectives of how smallpox took its toll on the people of London and Boston.

As a piece of historical fiction, The Speckled Monster manages to do its job as both a historical account and as a legitimate drama. The `historical' side of the book is impressive to say the least. Carrell definitely did her research; close to fifty pages of the novel alone are dedicated to historical notes. Facts and events blend in with intricately reimagined events and dialogue between the key players in the smallpox saga. The integration works a bit too well; I found myself wishing that I could tell when fact ended and Carrell's reimaginings began.

While reading the book, however, I felt that the 'drama' was lacking. Carrell starts off the book with a portrayal of the growing Lady Mary that comes off as a bit like a teen drama, with melodramatic, even angsty prose. This section definitely could have used some trimming at the very least so as to get into the more interesting smallpox years sooner.