Guarding the Golden Gate: A History of the U.S. Quarantine Station in San Francisco Bay, J. Gordon Frierson.

"Guarding the Golden Gate: A History of the U.S. Quarantine Station in San Francisco Bay" by J. Gordon Frierson is a comprehensive and well-researched account of the quarantine station on Angel Island from 1882 to 1942. The book explores the economic and political contexts surrounding diseases such as cholera, smallpox, and bubonic plague, and how they shaped public health and medicine. It also delves into the personal and political struggles of those who worked or were detained on Angel Island, highlighting the racial discrimination and hardships they faced. While the book could have further engaged with recent scholarship on medical racism and anti-Chinese sentiment, it offers valuable insights into the origins of modern public health in the US and the social meaning of infectious diseases. [Extracted from the article]