Gail Jarrow

Describes the panic induced when listeners believed Orson Welles' radio broadcast of "The War of the Worlds" to be news of an alien invasion, discussing the context in which the broadcast was aired and why it was so convincing.

"Imagine microscopic worms living in the soil. They enter your body through your bare feet, travel to your intestines, and stay there for years sucking your blood like vampires. You feel exhausted. You get sick easily. It sounds like a nightmare, but that's what happened in the American South during the 1800s and early 1900s. Doctors never guessed that hookworms were making patients ill, but zoologist Charles Stiles knew better. Working with one of...

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...

"...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 twice as many men as did the battles. Yet from this tragic four-year...

"With a flair for entertaining and a knack for self-promotion, Harry Kellar always promised a spectacular show. And he never disappointed. Kellar read minds, floated women in the air, and escaped from knotted ropes in seconds. Known throughout the world, he was a conjurer extraordinaire! Author Gail Jarrow shines the spotlight on this nearly forgotten magical wizard and his dazzling illusions. Working with experts and relying on Kellar's own words...

Describes this strange-looking rodent which lives a social life in a system of tunnels under the brick-hard soil of East Africa.

Describes what hookworms are, where they are found, how they enter their host, and what is being done to control them.