"A witty, irreverent tour of history's worst plagues--from the Antonine Plague to leprosy to polio--and a celebration of the heroes who fought them. In 1518, in a small town in Alsace, Frau Troffea began dancing and didn't stop. She danced until she was carried away six days later, and soon 34 more villagers joined her. Then more. In a month more than 400 people had died from the mysterious dancing plague. In late-seventeenth-century England an eccentric gentleman founded the No Nose Club in his gracious townhome--a social club for those who had lost their noses, and other body parts, to the plague of syphilis, for which there was then no cure. And in turn-of-the-twentieth-century New York, an Irish cook caused two lethal outbreaks of typhoid fever, a case that transformed her into the notorious Typhoid Mary. Throughout time, humans have been terrified and fascinated by the diseases history and circumstance have dropped on them. Some of their responses to these outbreaks are, in hindsight, almost too strange to believe. Get Well Soon delivers the gruesome, morbid details of some of the worst plagues we've suffered as a species, as well as stories of the heroic figures who selflessly fought to ease the suffering of their fellow man. With her signature mix of in-depth research and storytelling, and not a little dark humor, Jennifer Wright explores history's most gripping and deadly outbreaks and ultimately looks at the surprising ways they've shaped history and humanity for almost as long as anyone can remember."--

Elect sane, calm leaders : Antonine plague -- Frogs don't save lives, reading history books does : bubonic plague -- Try being nice instead of burning people as witches : dancing plague -- Spread the word that vaccines are the best : smallpox -- STD shaming leads to STD spreading : syphilis -- Never glamorize ill health : tuberculosis -- If you want to demonstrate conventional wisdom is wrong, be ready to prove your theory thoroughly : cholera -- Know that one good person can make a difference, and that you can be that person : leprosy -- If you are diseased, don't deliberately infect other people : typhoid -- Censorship kills : Spanish flu -- Keep track of medical advances, because they are happening faster than ever : encephalitis lethargica -- Don't listen to fast-talking charlatans with few medical credentials : lobotomies -- Understand that when communities, leaders, and scientists work together, we can save the world : polio -- Learn from the past : epilogue.