Black Death at the Golden Gate Audiobook By David K. Randall cover art

Black Death at the Golden Gate

The Race to Save America from the Bubonic Plague

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Black Death at the Golden Gate

By: David K. Randall
Narrated by: Charles Constant
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A spine-chilling saga of virulent racism, human folly, and the ultimate triumph of scientific progress.

For Chinese immigrant Wong Chut King, surviving in San Francisco meant a life in the shadows. His passing on March 6, 1900, would have been unremarkable if a city health officer hadn't noticed a swollen black lymph node on his groin - a sign of bubonic plague. Empowered by racist pseudoscience, officials rushed to quarantine Chinatown while doctors examined Wong's tissue for telltale bacteria. If the devastating disease was not contained, San Francisco would become the American epicenter of an outbreak that had already claimed 10 million lives worldwide.

To local press, railroad barons, and elected officials, such a possibility was inconceivable - or inconvenient. As they mounted a cover-up to obscure the threat, it fell to federal health officer Rupert Blue to save a city that refused to be rescued.

In the tradition of Erik Larson and Steven Johnson, best-selling author David K. Randall spins a spellbinding account of Blue's race to understand the disease and contain its spread - the only hope of saving San Francisco, and the nation, from a gruesome fate.

©2019 David K. Randall (P)2019 HighBridge, a division of Recorded Books Americas History & Commentary Medicine & Health Care Industry Physical Illness & Disease State & Local United States
Fascinating History • Engaging Narrative • Medical Thriller • Educational Content • Detailed Personalities
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very interesting informative, well-written historical novel with good leadership lessons for public health. I slowed the audio to .85x which made the narration sound much more natural. I enjoyed it very much after doing that.

good book with adjusted audio

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This nonfiction work reads like a medical thriller, as teams of dedicated doctors race to understand the pathogen killing dozens and then scores of people in 1900-1907 San Francisco. This book came out a year before the Covid pandemic but listeners today will be repeatedly struck by the parallels. Good narration, too.

Gripping and unsettling

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Could not turn this off!! concerned at first about a medical history - this was so well written it was engaging from the first "page". Annoying to have to stop for any reason. Learned so much about San Francisco area. I will surely read it again in future.

Phenomenal History Information

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Never listened to a book through audio. Didn’t think I would have retained the information but I did. Will probably listen to books this way from now on.

First time

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Super well written. Great history of early 1900's San Francisco and California. Greed and racism made it so hard for scientists to control a plague outbreak. Much like today!!

totally relevant in this pandemic age

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Amazing how recently we have had plague in California. Great story of microbiology, infection control and how politics and fake news can frustrate efforts to combat the spread of disease. History repeats itself!

Fascinating story

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This was a fascinating book. I couldn't help from drawing a comparison to our modern day pandemic and the politics and racism of those who played
fast and loose with peoples lives. Nothing has changed in over a hundred years. I think this would be a great book for high school students to be required to read. I hope more people will listen to the lessons written down here.

A history of Black Death in the U.S.

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A fascinating story with a wonderful narrator. This was my second book by David K. Randall, and it did not disappoint.

Fantastic

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David Randall's book does an excellent job in giving background on Bubonic plague as an illness that goes back centuries. I'm a registered nurse, so anything dealing with public health is very interesting to me. The book details an outbreak of bubonic plague in turn of the 20th century San Francisco. Doctor's trying to get to the bottom of this outbreak had to contend with racism against Chinese, concerns about loss of money to businesses in San Francisco and California. One of the best medical related books I have read since the Hot Zone and The great INfluenza.(Both very good books also worth your time)

Plague, Racism, Public Health..a toxic mix.

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It was interesting to read some California history that was completely new to me. I really enjoyed this book and found some parallels to what is happening with the current pandemic.

Plague, Politics and Racism

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