Great introductory piece to get to know the history of TB as well as TB in modern times. I became a walking TB fact yapper the past week. I might have brought TB facts 5 different times in random conversations. My partner knows too much about TB because I cant stop myself from pausing what I am doing and making him pause what he is doing to tell these important facts!

Apart from that, I have couple of issues with this book. It needed more finger pointing. The blame lays with a selected few and the author doesn't say it outright. Sure, Johnson&Johnson is to blame, but the whole system is rigged. The real cause of contemporary tuberculosis, is, for lack of a better term not us but capitalism. The book doesn't stop itself when it comes to highlight the bad deeds of colonialism, but capitalism doesn't get mentioned enough.

Hence, the book doesn't call us for action. We don't get to boycott anyone or anything. We are not mad about mine owners or companies still suckling on African blood and benefit from bed-ridden African people. It was a great opportunity to flame our hatred towards billionaires, but the book doesn't take it. I would have much much prefer to read about that than reading about Henry's father's actions towards the end of the book.

Also, I know Henry is a real person and I get why the author talked about him extensively and I don't feel completely comfortable talking about him in this review, but I have to say that something makes me very uncomfortable about portraying a real person so wonderfully to make us more sympathetic toward people with TB in poorer countries. Henry, or anyone, doesn’t need to be an upstanding citizen to have access to life-saving treatment.