Tuberculosis is the greatest infectious killer in history. In this century and the previous one, it was responsible for an estimated thousand million deaths. The discovery of the cure changed history – yet, incredibly, that story has never previously been told before.
Half way through the twentieth century, few people world-wide, whether doctors or the ordinary man or woman, believed that such a cure would ever be possible. Only a tiny band of unlikely heroes, scattered in different countries, believed they could find it. Not one of them was a tuberculosis expert. Half of them were not even medically qualified. This is their story.
For Dr. Frank Ryan, who for many years travelled world-wide gathering together the intimate details of their lives, the greatest shock was awaiting him in New York, when he discovered that in a deadly alliance with AIDS, tuberculosis was once again threatening both the developed and developing world.
Sadly, tuberculosis remains a problem even in developed countries and it continues to cause great misery and mortality in many developing countries.
The hardcover of this book is now out of print but it remains available in kindle format, with an updated summary released by Swift Publishers in 2019.
FRANK RYAN came to widespread international acclaim with this book, which he considers to be his magnus opus in non-fiction. It took the front page review in The New York Times and The Washington Post, with lead reviews in the Daily Telegraph and New Scientist. It was the subject of a play in Boston, featuring the late Oscar-winning actor, Jason Robards. He is also the author of Virus X, the ground-breaking Darwin’s Blind Spot and the contemporary novel, Taking Care of Harry.
Category: Popular medical non-fiction; Pages 446; PRICE £6.99; B-format paperback.
Please note: this title is only presently available in kindle.
PRAISE FOR THIS BOOK
“An important book” . .. judged non-fiction book of the year by the New York Times
As exciting as a detective novel… Dr Ryan tells an important and moving story. His book should be compulsive reading for those who ignorantly or dishonestly deny the power of science to contribute to human welfare. Anthony Daniels, The Sunday Telegraph
