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Betty MacDonald
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The Plague and I Paperback – January 1, 1994

by Betty Macdonald (Author)
4.5 4.5 out of 5 stars 469 ratings
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You know how sometimes friendship blossoms in the Þrst few moments of meeting? “Something clicked,” we say. Well, that's what discovering Betty MacDonald was like for me: I happened to read a couple of pages of one of her books and — click — knew right away that here was a vivacious writer whose friendly, funny, and Þery company I was really going to enjoy. Although MacDonald's Þrst and most popular book, The Egg and I, has remained in print since its original publication, her three other volumes have been unavailable for decades. The Plague and I recounts MacDonald's experiences in a Seattle sanitarium, where the author spent almost a year (1938-39) battling tuberculosis. The White Plague was no laughing matter, but MacDonald nonetheless makes a sprightly tale of her brush with something deadly. Anybody Can Do Anything is a high-spirited, hilarious celebration of how “the warmth and loyalty and laughter of a big family” brightened their weathering of The Great Depression. In Onions in the Stew, MacDonald is in unbuttonedly frolicsome form as she describes how, with husband and daughters, she set to work making a life on a rough-and-tumble island in Puget Sound, a ferry-ride from Seattle.
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Previous page
  1. Book 2 of 4
    Betty MacDonald Memoirs Series
  2. Print length
    224 pages
  3. Language
    English
  4. Publisher
    George Mann Books
  5. Publication date
    January 1, 1994
  6. Dimensions
    5.71 x 0.67 x 8.54 inches
  7. ISBN-10
    0704102544
  8. ISBN-13
    978-0704102545
  9. See all details
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Product details

  • Publisher ‏ : ‎ George Mann Books (January 1, 1994)
  • Language ‏ : ‎ English
  • Paperback ‏ : ‎ 224 pages
  • ISBN-10 ‏ : ‎ 0704102544
  • ISBN-13 ‏ : ‎ 978-0704102545
  • Item Weight ‏ : ‎ 2.92 pounds
  • Dimensions ‏ : ‎ 5.71 x 0.67 x 8.54 inches
  • Customer Reviews:
    4.5 4.5 out of 5 stars 469 ratings

About the author

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Betty MacDonald

Betty MacDonald

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A longtime resident of Washington State, Betty MacDonald (1908-1958) authored four humorous, autobiographical bestsellers and several children's books, including the popular Mrs. Piggle-Wiggle books.

Customer reviews

4.5 out of 5 stars
4.5 out of 5
469 global ratings
Nice book - printed on demand?
4 Stars
Nice book - printed on demand?
This book arrived quickly with a nice soft cover. But when I opened the book, the Title page was upside down, and the backside of that sheet was upside down as well (see photos). I flipped through and all the rest of the pages seem correct, so no big deal.Then I got to the last page which says it was made YESTERDAY, in North Haven, CT! I find that amazing! A nice product, apparently printed on demand. Thank you, Amazon!
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Top reviews from the United States

Dottie Belden
5.0 out of 5 stars great read
Reviewed in the United States on February 23, 2023
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Love the way Betty wrote this book. It brought laughter and tears. Entertaining enough so I didn’t want to put it down but sorry when I finished it.
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kitz
5.0 out of 5 stars A perfect book for what we are going through now.
Reviewed in the United States on August 31, 2020
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I consider this the best book by the author. The horror of having contracted TB, especially from a co worker who knew he had it but still just coughed around the office, is especially frighting during current times. The patients at the hospital, with strict rules and regulations, keep us entertained and sometimes in tears. My great grandfather died of TB after having been sent to a hospital in Arizona to try to help cure him. He went from Washington DC to Arizona and his death caused the family much suffering, he was studying to be a doctor when he contracted the illness. This first hand account, that is at times humorous, is easy to read as you can picture yourself as a patient. Also the treatments used in this book, are still used on antibiotic resistant TB even today. Collapsing a lung, is perhaps the most frightening part of the book, and Betty had to keep up these treatments even after she left the hospital.
9 people found this helpful
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Bruce Wilson
4.0 out of 5 stars I don't know how someone who could write as racist a book
Reviewed in the United States on March 31, 2006
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as "The Egg and I"--her statement in that book that "I do not like Indians and I think we did a good thing in coming over and taking this beautiful country away from them." made my part-Cherokee blood boil--could write another that was so UNracist. While the author does use terms like 'colored' and 'Negro', those were (one can understand) the accepted terms in the 1930s, and while she records the racist attudes of some of the patients and staff, she apparently does not agree with them. She formed a close attachment with a Japanese patient--whom she later urges to go to college--and when an African-American (to use the accepted term of today) patient tells her that she doesn't mind being in isolation because the white patients don't want her as a roommate anyway, she thinks this absurd.

It is difficult for us today to understand how very scary TB was back then. While TB is not unknown today, if caught early it is easily treated with appropriate medications; not so, then. The only treatment was a rest-cure with pallitive measures; many people recovered, but many did not. There were some surgical treatments (collapsed lung), but they were painful and not terribly effective. It was known to be contageous, although not nearly as contageous as many people thought it was. The nearest modern equivalent might be HIV/AIDS, except that the latter is always fatal.

As other authors have mentioned, one hardly thinks that such a story would be funny, but BMacD is able to find humor in any situation. I've read all four of her books for adults and enjoyed them very much--even 'Egg'. That she was able to be discharged from the sanitarium after only about a year shows that laughter is, indeed, the best medicine.
14 people found this helpful
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M. Saunders
5.0 out of 5 stars Funny but written in 1950s Not Politically correct
Reviewed in the United States on August 13, 2020
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This was a best seller for many years. The Ma and Pa Kettle movies came from this book. The movie is good but does not tell the truth; her husband chased women. MacDonald writes about her life growing up and then living on a chicken farm in Washington before World War II. Her description of Indians is not politically correct as awareness of indigenous peoples' issues had not yet become widespread in America. But you must remember her husband's Indian friend did try to rape Betty, not a conflict of cultures but human-to-human assault. The character development is memorable. I saw the movie at age 4 and had no idea of political correctness. Many of us over 70 enjoyed the Ma & Pa "B" movies. We just went to the movies because we did not have TV.
5 people found this helpful
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5.0 out of 5 stars Read it!
Reviewed in the United States on July 30, 2017
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This is the second Betty MacDonald book I have read. The first was, of course, The Egg and I. This one was equally as funny, self depreciating, heart breaking and, again, very, very funny. I'm not sure there is another author that comes close to her easy humor, perhaps someone like Dave Barry. Although, as a single mother in a tuberculosis sanatorium (or surviving the depression, or moving to a chicken farm on the Olympic Peninsula), her topics are never light, despite her levity. She really was a truly gifted writer. I'm glad all of her books are now back in print. I am going to read every one, many times.
4 people found this helpful
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Mariah W.
3.0 out of 5 stars Not exactly what I was expecting.
Reviewed in the United States on April 21, 2017
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The comments said "Signed; Good/Good..."then described the condition of the book. The book was in the condition described but I was under the impression it was a signed copy. It is not but I do love Betty MacDonald.
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dutch pie
5.0 out of 5 stars I originally read this book when I was fourteen and ...
Reviewed in the United States on July 18, 2017
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I originally read this book when I was fourteen and have always remembered how much I was enthralled by it. Several years ago I started a quest to get a copy and re-read it, but I couldn't find any except crazily expensive used copies. Then just recently I found Amazon suddenly had unused paperback copies for a reasonable price (I assume a reprint). Now I'm blissfully reading this entertaining (MacDonald's wit was superb) and informative book and enjoying it even more than I did as a teenager!
7 people found this helpful
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Saray Nagendra
5.0 out of 5 stars Healing can be funny!
Reviewed in the United States on August 12, 2018
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You wouldn’t think a story about having Tuberculosis would be funny, but written by Betty MacDonald, it was almost as laughable as “The Egg & I”. Her take on some of the caregivers was so spot-on, still true today! And the other patients she encountered were as hysterical and varied as any group of friends could be. A wonderful read, not gloomy or morose, although it did have a couple cases of friends who didn’t heal. I’d recommend it to anyone in a hospital, rehab setting especially, but fun for everyone to read.
7 people found this helpful
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Top reviews from other countries

Kindle Customer
5.0 out of 5 stars The Plague & I revisited.
Reviewed in the United Kingdom on January 24, 2022
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I first read this book in 1963 whilst in hospital myself. A (somewhat strange) present from an Aunt, I found it very entertaining & so subsequently read other books by Betty MacDonald. I like the wry sense of humour & her descriptions of people, places & situations. It was nice to revisit this one. As entertaining as first time round.
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annette morrison
5.0 out of 5 stars The Plague and I
Reviewed in Canada on April 7, 2019
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B. Macdonald is a favorite and this is just fine
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Gertraut Seib
5.0 out of 5 stars Betty's second book...
Reviewed in Germany on March 15, 2009
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I was very young when I encountered Betty MacDonalds hilarious book The Egg and I, so I bought her second novel without informing myself what is was about... and then it turned out to be her battle with tuberculosis. Now having worked with a GP for many years myself, I really was astonished about some of the remedies to heal it in the sanatorium. Quite a lot will be different by now. But it was highly enjoyable to read, her indomitable humor coming through all the time. And I was all the more sorry when I learned that at the age of 50 she died of cancer of the lungs...
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A. Margaret Caza
5.0 out of 5 stars Five Stars
Reviewed in Canada on January 16, 2017
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Nobody else could make such a book interesting, scary and amusing
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Peter Howley
5.0 out of 5 stars A Treasure
Reviewed in the United Kingdom on November 3, 2009
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The least likely comic classic I have ever read. Betty MacDonald rose to fame with "The Egg and I", her hysterical account of her time as the wife of a chicken farmer. That was laugh out loud funny and so is "The Plague and I", her account of a year spent in a TB sanitorium. This may not be an obvious subject for laughter but she succeeds brilliantly in conveying the frightening aspects of the illness and the harshness of the treatment but interlaced throughout with a delicious wit and humour. The book is filled with fascinating characters, including her own madcap family, her Japanese room-mate and many others.

This book is thoroughly entertaining from start to finish and what a delight to see it back in print after so many years
4 people found this helpful
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