In 1721 there was a massive outbreak of smallpox in Boston. Cotton Mather, the man of the Salem Witch trials fame, realized his slave had been in Africa and therefore never got sick. After talking with him and several other slaves who had undergone the procedure, Mather wrote a letter and paper to the local doctors explaining what he had discovered. Only one doctor, Zabdiel Boylston, was brave enough to look into the issue and began inoculating people, starting with his own small son. Zabdiel Boylston, was attacked and insulted, but he kept inoculating people.

The battle both those for and against inoculation raged in the local papers, including the New England Courant, which was written and published by James Franklin, who was assisted by his brother and apprentice Benjamin Franklin. Battles also raged in the town again the British Governor. Using the paper as a sounding board both James and Ben spoke out against the power of the crown and inoculation.

History has shown the wisdom of what Zabdiel Boylston did and he is now considered the father of inoculation and his work even when attacked and insulted has saved millions of lives and helped to eradicate smallpox.

The battles a young Ben Franklin fought with his brother for freedoms from the British, including freedom of the press, lead to his involvement as one of our founding fathers.

THE FEVER OF 1721 is a well written and researched book that gives a fascinating look into the history of our country as it was on the verge of demanding freedom from the tyrannical British rule. I was enthralled when reading about the relationship of the Franklin brothers, and how Ben, usually regarded as a genius, taught himself everything he knew. Also the doctor, Zabdiel Boylston, who went against those who thought what he was doing was against God was an impressive man. He mastered a process that had been used in different forms by other societies for many years and brought it to the supposedly enlightened.

It's known that George Washington later demanded all recruits be inoculated against smallpox and saved our military from losing due to illness and death. Also the founding fathers were all inoculated before they went for the Congressional Congress, if they hadn't been we might not be the nation we are today, as the area was in the middle of a smallpox epidemic.

I can't say enough about how well Stephen Coss put together the history of events that shaped our nation into what it is today and included the players who never knew the impact of their actions. We owe what we are today to those few who dared to do what they felt was right and just.

THE FEVER OF 1721 is worth reading for anyone who loves history and even if you don't, you should know what people did and how it helped create what we are today. Stephen Coss, thank you for showing us how a butterfly named Zabdiel Boylston, flapping his wings in 1721 Boston gave us the U.S. Constitution we have today.