Everything Is Tuberculosis

Why I'd hand it to you

John Green, the novelist, tells the story of tuberculosis, which still kills more people than any other infectious disease. He centers the book on Henry, a young man he met in Sierra Leone, and moves between that friendship and the long history of the disease, from romantic myths about consumption to modern drug pricing. His point is that poverty and policy, not just germs, decide who lives. It is warm and sad. My caution is that it is as much an argument as a history, and Green's personal voice is everywhere, which fans will like and others may find a bit much.

— Matt Jordan