**Discover the shocking, yet true, stories of presidential illnesses and medical crises from the 18th to the 21st century.The latest thrilling title in award-winning author Gail Jarrow’s Medical Fiascoes series for readers ages 10 and up.**George Washington almost died from an infection just a few weeks after becoming the first president. Two later presidents suddenly succumbed to disease within nine years of each other, shocking the country. In this riveting companion to h...

**A School Library Journal Best BookA Chicago Public Library Best of the Best Books 20242025 Texas Topaz ListCCBC Choices 20252025 Capitol ChoicesThe latest from acclaimed author Gail Jarrow reveals how magicians—including Harry Houdini and his team of investigators—exposed fake mediums who exploited the vulnerable and gullible in the early twentieth century.★ Shelf Awareness, starred review★ School Library Journal, starr...

Acclaimed author Gail Jarrow, recipient of a 2019 Robert F. Sibert Honor Award, explores the science and grisly history of U.S. Civil War medicine, using actual medical cases and first-person accounts by soldiers, doctors, and nurses.The Civil War took the lives of hundreds of thousands of Americans and left countless others with disabling wounds and chronic illnesses. Bullets and artillery shells shattered soldiers' bodies, while microbes and parasites killed twic...

**Included on NPR's 2022 "Books We Love" ListFinalist, 2023 YALSA Award for Excellence in NonfictionALSC Notable Children's BookWhat 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 Fi...

**A Washington Post Best Children's BookThis book for young readers explores in riveting detail the false panic created by the famous War of the Worlds radio broadcast from 1938—as well as the repercussions of "fake news" today.**On the night of October 30, 1938, thousands of Americans panicked when they believed that Martians had invaded Earth. What appeared to be breaking news about an alien invasion was in fact a radio drama based on H. G. Wells's War of the...

Uncover the true story of America's first plague epidemic in 1900 in this book is perfect to share with young readers looking for a historical perspective of the Covid-19/Coronavirus pandemic that recently gripped the world.In March 1900, San Francisco's health department investigated a strange and horrible death in Chinatown. A man had died of bubonic plague, one of the world's deadliest diseases. But how could that be possible? Acclaimed author and scientific exp...

Learn about the 1907 outbreak of typhoid fever and "Typhoid Mary" in this book perfect to share with young readers interested in a historical perspective of the Covid-19/Coronavirus pandemic that recently gripped the entire world.Meet Mary Mallon, a hardworking Irish cook hired by several of New York’s well-to-do families, who ultimately came to be known as "Typhoid Mary". Read how Mary unwittingly spread deadly bacteria, the ways an epidemiologist discovered her t...

**Finalist, 2026 YALSA Award for Excellence in Nonfiction for Young AdultsA School Library Journal Best BookChicago Public Library Best of the Best List 2025CCBC Choices 2026Here are the shocking, yet true, stories of presidential medical cover-ups from the 19th to the 21st century—the latest thrilling title in award-winning author Gail Jarrow’s Medical Fiascoes series for readers ages 10 and up.**Did you know President Woodrow Wilson suffered a paralyz...

**Winner of the 2022 YALSA Excellence in Nonfiction for Young Adults AwardThis thrilling title for young readers blends science, history, and medical mysteries to tell the story of the assassination and ultimately horrible death of President James Garfield.**James Abram Garfield, the 20th President of the United States, was assassinated when he was shot by Charles Guiteau in July 1881, less than four months after he was elected president. But Garfield didn't actually die un...

**Washington Post Best Children's BookFormaldehyde, borax, salicylic acid. Today, these chemicals are used in embalming fluids, cleaning supplies, and acne medications. But in 1900, they were routinely added to food that Americans ate from cans and jars.**In 1900, products often weren't safe because unregulated, unethical companies added these and other chemicals to trick consumers into buying spoiled food or harmful medicines. Chemist Harvey Washington Wiley recognized the...

One hundred years ago, a mysterious and alarming illness spread across America's South, striking tens of thousands of victims. No one knew what caused it or how to treat it. People were left weak, disfigured, insane, and in some cases, dead.Award-winning science and history writer Gail Jarrow tracks this disease, commonly known as pellagra, and highlights how doctors, scientists, and public health officials finally defeated it. Illustrated with 100 archival photogr...

Presenting the amazing Harry Kellar: the first magician to receive international fame and the model for the Wizard of Oz!In this illustrated biography of the most well-known illusionist at the turn of the twentieth century, Author Gail Jarrow follows Kellar from a magician's assistant traveling and performing across the United States during the Civil War to an international superstar with a show of his own, entertaining emperors, kings, and presidents.Jarro...