Description |
xi, 235 pages : illustrations, maps ; 25 cm |
Bibliography |
Includes bibliographical references and index. |
Contents |
The world plague epidemic of the 1890s -- The "existing government" of Hawaii -- The arrival of Pestis -- The government's plague fighters -- Quarantine -- December's debates and "a sad Christmas present" -- The decision to use fire -- Public health policy and the "great doctor's meeting" -- Fighting with fire -- The burning of Chinatown -- Detention camps -- The triumvirate struggles on -- The frustrations of mopping up -- Aftermath. |
Summary |
A little over a century ago, bubonic plague--the same Black Death that decimated medieval Europe--arrived on the shores of Hawaii just as the islands were about to become a U.S. territory. In this narrative, the author tells the story of that fearful visitation and its fiery climax--a vast conflagration that engulfed Honolulu's Chinatown. He tells this gripping tale largely through the eyes of the people caught up in the disaster, from members of the white elite to Chinese doctors, Japanese businessmen, and Hawaiian reporters. At the heart of the narrative are three American physicians--the Honolulu Board of Health--who became virtual dictators when the government granted them absolute control over the armed forces and the treasury. The doctors soon quarantined Chinatown, where the plague was killing one or two people a day and clearly spreading. They resisted intense pressure from the white community to burn down all of Chinatown at once and instead ordered a careful, contro. |
Awards |
Oregon Book Award for General Nonfiction, 2005. |
Subject |
Plague -- Hawaii -- Honolulu -- History -- 19th century.
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Chinatown (Honolulu, Hawaii) -- History -- 19th century.
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Fires -- Hawaii -- Honolulu -- History -- 19th century.
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Plague -- history.
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Plague -- prevention & control.
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Public Health -- history.
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Fires -- history.
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Health Policy -- history.
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Politics.
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Race Relations -- history.
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Minority Groups -- history.
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History, 19th Century.
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Hawaii.
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China -- ethnology.
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Fires. (OCoLC)fst00925697
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Plague. (OCoLC)fst01065045
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Hawaii -- Honolulu.
(OCoLC)fst01204916
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Hawaii -- Honolulu -- Chinatown.
(OCoLC)fst01323007
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Chronological Term |
1800-1899
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Genre/Form |
History. (OCoLC)fst01411628
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ISBN |
0195162315 (acid-free paper) |
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9780195162318 (acid-free paper) |
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0195311825 (paperback) |
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9780195311822 (paperback) |
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