Plagues in the Nation

An authoritative history of America's flawed responses to epidemics . . . A vigorous argument for unified public health measures. -Kirkus Reviews, Starred Review Gripping prose and lucid analysis make this an essential study of what needs to change before the next epidemic. -Publishers Weekly, Starred Review Short, readable, and well documented... [Price] clearly and ably lays out a timetable of disease and the legal and social response to it. -Booklist Plagues in the Nation is essential reading if we are to understand the challenges posed by the current COVID pandemic and pandemics to come. A distinguished scholar of law and government, as well as an expert on issues of public health, Polly Price is also a first-rate historian whose description of earlier epidemics and pandemics shows the fundamental flaws in our decentralized public health system and the threat posed by our loss of trust in governmental and scientific institutions. -Dan Carter, author of Scottsboro and The Politics of Rage A masterful book for our times, a must-read for understanding how pandemics shape law, government, and society. Price takes us on a journey through history, ranging from the Great Influenza Pandemic of 1918 through to modern plagues like HIV/AIDS, Ebola, and the COVID-19 pandemic, which has divided America and the world, like no pandemic before; Price uses the lens of history and law to offer vital lessons for the future. -Lawrence O. Gostin, Director, World Health Organization Collaborating Center on National and Global Health Law All epidemics are different but much can be learned from understanding the past performance of Government and the impact and limits of legally-based policies. Plagues in the Nation explores these issues during past and present epidemics in the United States and provides lessons for Government and citizens to face the future. -Jim Curran, Dean, Rollins School of Public Health, Emory University