As life begins to resume a sense of normalcy, it’s important to reflect upon the lessons learned from the pandemic. Numerous parallels may be drawn to the bubonic plague outbreak of San Francisco at the start of the 20th century. Black Death at the Golden Gate by David K. Randall provides an account of the efforts led by public health officials to combat this disease. Randall is a senior reporter at Reuters who drew upon a wide array of sources, including telegrams and contemporary newspapers, to construct a narrative of the plague. Each chapter provides thorough illustrations of the physicians, scientists, and patients involved, to further draw the reader into the immediacy of the events.