Customer Reviews

Captain of Death: The Story of Tuberculosis

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As a child that started grade school in the 1950s, I remember standing in lines for TB skin tests. Now, after reading this remarkable book and learning of the many luminaries in the arts, sciences, literature, politics, and the aristocracy that fell to this forgotten killer, I feel profoundly lucky to be born after 1948. I'm amazed the story of tuberculosis is not more well known, for it's a story the deserves to be told, retold, and remembered. Another well-kept secret from the text is that today TB still kills more people worldwide than AIDS and all of the tropical diseases combined. How did Dan Rather missed this scandal?

On a light note, it's interesting that a recent (I thought) ideal of beauty, the Kate Moss "heroin" look, is really quite old. The text described how young and beautiful women were considered to be even more beautiful if they appeared to be pale and wasting away with TB--the "consumtive" look. Strange how history repeats its self.

I read this good book, here in Brazil.This book is concise and easy to read.It wasn't made for doctors, but for general public.I'm not a doctor.I'm an agronomist.

Some photos; all black and white.

The main failure of this book is to be non-linear.A chapter about tuberculosis today, is before a chapter about the discovery of bacterial origin of tuberculosis.

Among the best parts of this book, there's the proof that tuberculosis declined before medicines against it, were found in late 1940 decade.Better sanitarization, better food, pasteurization,etc. put tuberculosis in decline, since late XVIII Century.