OSU's Relax and Read Collection: Book Reviews

Guest Review Series: Everything is Tuberculosis: The History and Persistence of Our Deadliest Infection by John Green

For the first library employee guest review is "Everything is Tuberculosis: The History and Persistence of Our Deadliest Infection" by John Green.

Below is the review by JJ Compton

Everything is Tuberculosis: The History and Persistence of Our Deadliest Infection by John Green (2025)

Author John Green, most famous for his hits like A Fault in Our Stars, Looking for Alaska, Paper Towns, and Turtles All the Way Down, has taken a departure from his award winning young adult genre to write an adult non-fiction history of a still deadly worldwide disease.  He uses his passion for global health reform to weave together a part social, part scientific, and part personal history of disease laden 20-year-old Henry, to advocate for understanding and change.

Quote from Chapter 11 describes exactly how sufferers in the 19^th and 20^th century battled the disease. “You might not have the energy or health to go shopping or attend church or visit family. And for those in sanatoria, life became carefully circumscribed in the name of physical and mental hygiene. The sick were often told to move very little, discouraged even from writing letters or combing their own hair. They were also told not to feel too intensely…” Basically, the sufferers of the day just lay in bed and were extremely bored. Green’s portrayal of life with tuberculosis both historical and present day is sure to create empathy with readers.

The technological and pharmacological advances allow doctors to better diagnosis and treat the disease as reported by Green, but that doesn’t mean everyone had equal opportunities to these diagnostic and treatment options.  And that is the crux of Green’s purpose in writing the book, to garner support and understanding for a disease still raging and killing many worldwide, daily.

I think readers who enjoy non-fiction, medical and/or social histories will enjoy the quick read Green provides. Also, readers who typically don’t pick up the non-fiction genre should give this one a chance, especially if public health and equitable systems are something which resonate with you.

Overall, I give it 4.5/5 stars because when it ended, I really wanted a bit more.