Everything is Tuberculosis is John Green’s second non-fiction book. And it is all about tuberculosis—its discovery, symptoms, prognosis, treatments, history, and future outlook. However, that’s not all it’s about. It also covers humanity’s reactions—statistics, cultures, attitudes, actions, beliefs, inventions, by-products, arts, sciences, and world health processes surrounding the disease. The book is quite comprehensive and not nearly as dry or textbook-ish as one might expect. It’s also fairly short—around 200 pages and less than 6 hours via audiobook.
Green’s last chapter reveals that he knows he has a “megaphone” as a result of his successful novels and YouTube channel and that he hopes his position of influence will make a difference in the future handling of this completely curable disease. He teaches us that, while tuberculosis is extremely rare in rich countries like the USA, it kills a million people every year throughout the world due to many reasons but, mostly, the lack of sufficient funds in impoverished countries. In fact, tuberculosis, a bacterial infection spread through airborn particles, is one of the top causes of global death every year. I applaud Green’s publication of this informative book which might, very well, bring extra attention and aid to the sufferers of this infection.
Green, admittedly, has OCD—specifically OCD regarding germs. So I found it extremely interesting that, despite his specific phobias, he willingly dove in and, dare I say, obsessed over a human-spread disease. He claimed that he became so interested in TB after meeting a charming hospital-bound youth suffering from drug-resistant tuberculosis in Sierra Leone. Throughout the book, he provides updates on Henry’s history and progress, or lack thereof, giving the book’s audience a more personal and relatable viewpoint into the disease.
Overall, I think Green’s book (and his fame) is an amazing tool for getting the word out about how ridiculous it is that one of the world’s leading causes of death is completely curable yet, through human systems’ failures, still kills over a million people a year. There was a section around the 1/4 mark in the book where things got slow for me when Green gave us more pre-medical treatment history than my interest could hold, but once the book refocused on the science, I was all in. I loved the way he included aspects of culture, politics, psychology, and sociology surrounding the understanding and spread of TB including fashion, hygiene, and racism. He threw in inventions, world historical events, and creation of cities which were also influenced by TB. It’s not all science!
The audiobook was narrated by the author and he did an amazing job, unsurprisingly. Of course, I give him an A.
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