Bringing Light to a Hidden Horror

A truly fantastic listen. If you are looking for a book and going "I want to learn something new", this is the book. "Fault in our stars" emotion with "Crash Course" information.

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The virtuous American

The last few weeks have been difficult for those of us living in Europe. We have seen the present U.S. administration cut funding to aid in practically every developing country in the world that will have an impact on those countries’ ability to fight the “inequitable” (to quote John Green) battle against illnesses that could lead to many deaths and also the strengthening of resistant strains of killer diseases such as Tuberculosis and even Covid hat could spread to the developed world and threaten future mass deaths.
It is so good therefore to read through this excellent book that shows just how Tuberculosis has made such a large impact on human history, how we have fought to overcome it by scientific research and how we have the ability to keep deaths worldwide to a minimum but have chosen not to use the power we have to effect control over the illness by allowing money to dictate our actions.
I loved the way that Green uses the case of Henry a boy from Sierra Leone to show just how horrible this illness can be and you spend the whole book wondering about Henry’s fate. I will not give away what happens to Henry so as not to ruin the enjoyment of the book.
At one stage in the book Green talks about the “virtuous cycles” of events that allows rich countries such as the U.S. to support very poor countries such as Sierra Leone to provide the drugs that can help cure Tuberculosis . Unfortunately we seem to be in an “unvirtuous cycle” at the moment. John Green though is an example of a Virtuous American. He cares about all humanity and reading this book has shown me what America can be as a force for good in the world. Hopefully this will return sometime soon.
Green has a pleasant reading style and this is a thoroughly good listen that I strongly recommend.

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An interesting listen about an important topic

I knew that this was an important topic to learn about as I decided to buy this book. I was pleasantly surprised to find it to be an entertaining listen that kept me engaged as I learned. I really hope others give it a listen and are motivated to make positive chances in our world like I am.

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Absolutely fantastic

What a fantastic book. A joy to listen to, a thorough and aware overview of the history of TB, alongside a compelling story arc of the contemporary reality of TB.

It is often difficult to consume media about contemporary issues like widespread disease and inequality, because it can be so depressing. Somehow, John has taken this reality and found the hope and the ways forward in the story.

John also does not center himself in this book at all, and yet I strongly suspect his part in Henry's story was extremely significant.

If TB does become a disease that no one dies from, within my or John Green's lifetime, I expect John Green will have had a lot to do with it.

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Fascinating and Well Read

I had my own "Is that still a thing?" moment when I came across this book. I'm left fascinated, horrified and hopeful for the future of TB. Brilliant narration from the author and very well written.

I hear you John... Polo!

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Great Narration

Great to find out more about Henry & that he's okay l, as well as some general history.

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An alternate title: Everything bad is racism, misogyny, or corporate greed.

In this case, it is all of the above. A brilliant book showcasing how humans are the reason so many die from TB.

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Thoughtful and precise

Been waiting for this a while and it did not disappoint. Lovely soothing narration and a focused narrative that lingered on salient aspects of the global tuberculosis story. Some parts were a little repetitive, but I imagine that’s mostly because I’ve been following John’s story with Henry for years, and besides, his story and its points repeating.

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