Phantom Plague

Phantom Plague: HOW TUBERCULOSIS SHAPED HISTORY by Vidya Krishnan. This medical history is told in a very friendly way, without bogging down in medical terminilogy that is hard to understand. The author arges that TB is the deadliest disease in history and has been around for millenium. The first few chapters move quickly and are very interesting, with the history of medicine in the 1800s when attempts to reform doctors behaviour were met with lots of resistance. It is comical to our present time when trying to get people to wash their hands between performing procedures and seeing patience was laughed at. The development of germ theory and immunology is well told and provides a great overview of the medical field at that time.

The book bogs down as it moves into the history of individuals with TB and their attempts to get good treatment, and the details of the disease in India and.