The Forgotten Plague: How the Battle Against Tuberculosis Was Won - And Lost

by Frank Ryan

Ryan, a physician, offers a history of the cure for tuberculosis, including accounts of the people and scientists involved. The final chapter spells out a renewed threat in the congruence of AIDS and tuberculosis.

Genres: Medicine, Science, History, Nonfiction, Medical, Disease

488 pages, Paperback

First published January 1, 1993

About the author

Frank Ryan is a consultant physician in the UK as well as being an innovative evolutionary biologist, who has introduced the concepts of aggressive symbiosis to virology, and the concepts of genomic creativity and the holobiontic human genome to the story of human evolution. His major scientific interest has been the pioneering and development of the concept of viruses as symbionts, thus bringing together the disciplines of evolutionary virology and symbiology. He has a major interest in the evolution of the human genome and the implications this has for medicine.

BOOKS

Frank's books include the recently published "The Mysterious World of the Human Genome", Virolution, Metamorphosis, Darwin's Blind Spot, Virus X, and The Forgotten Plague. World in Action and Horizon based programs on Frank's books. The Forgotten Plague was a non-fiction book of the year for the New York Times. Virus X also received outstanding reviews in the New York Times and The Washington Post's Bookworld, and Darwin's Blind Spot was the book of choice for Charlie Munger in 2003.

Frank's books have also been the subject of TV and radio documentaries and have been translated into many languages. He is also an occasional reviewer of books for the New York Times.

SOCIAL LIFE

Frank is married with two children. He is an entertaining speaker, which has helped to make him popular with the live media, professional colleagues and lay audiences alike.

Reviews

[Anna · Rating 5 out of 5]

Wonderfully informative and frightening; not too technical for the average reader, but it helps if you took bio-chemistry. I'm fascinated with diseases and their effect on history a la Guns, Germs, and Steel, and this book gives you a sense of how enormous such a tiny, picky little bug can be. It's effects have reached into the 20th century. The doctors and scientists searching for a cure for Tuberculosis is a fantastic history story. However, the story of our failure to eradicate this insidious bacteria and the rise of drug resistance is chilling at best.

[Kim · Rating 2 out of 5]

Basically a horror story on microorganisms. It goes into a lot of detail on the scientific research involved in combating tuberculosis, why it was undertaken, how devastating this disease was (and now looks to be yet again) and discusses the mutatability of the organism responsible. Sort of slow at times but reminded me how we take our general good health and long life for granted - and yet the battles with microbes still continue.

[Kipper · Rating 5 out of 5]

I loved this book! It was so interesting and inspiring to read about how many years, researches and scientists it took to come up with a chemical means to fight Tuberculosis. Many of the scientists who dedicated their entire lives to fighting the disease never even knew that their research would play a part in the cure! This was probably one of the most easy and interesting non-fiction books I have ever read. The author is a genius.

[Alex · Rating 3 out of 5]

Good overview of the history and efforts in research to fight tb in the last century. I would never have thought that it would start with research into soil bacteria! Full of details that can bog the reading down but worth it overall. Also brings to light the fact that tb still remains a significant threat to health worldwide and perhaps humans as a whole.

[Pancha · Rating 4 out of 5]

Lots and lots of information, cover the history of TB and the discovery of antibiotics and chemotherapy. Very informative, and while it wasn't as thrilling as Devil Under the Microscope, it did have some white knuckle moments.

[Sarah · Rating 3 out of 5]

A very thorough and historical portrayal of the quest for a cure for TB. Strongest when it humanizes the science, but at times got a bit bogged down in details. The last chapters about the current and future state of TB were particularly fascinating.

[Nathan · Rating 4 out of 5]

"All the time [tuberculosis] was being battened down to controllable levels in the developed countries, it remained a fearsome killer in the poorer countries of the world. Throughout Africa, Asia, and Oceania, the disease had swarmed in epidemic proportion. These facts can only imply an appalling neglect of such unfortunate people by our more fortunate selves in the developed world. In these days, with such ease of movement from one country and even one continent to another, this was not only morally indefensible; it was also reckless. Nothing was more predictable than that soon the problem would turn up in our own backyard.... As the world enters the twenty-first century, a new battle begins against one of the oldest and most formidable scourges of humanity. Eventually success or failure will boil down to whether there is the will to win the battle. It is likely to depend more on compassion than on molecular biology."

A highly readable, competently written, and well-researched account of the history of tuberculosis, particularly focused on the discovery of antibiotics in the 1930s-1960s. It's worth reading alone for the challenge and call-to-action that close the book. I only wish that Ryan would write an updated version.

[Georgann · Rating 4 out of 5]

The first thing I did was to check TB rates in 2019. The TB Alliance says, "10 million fell ill from TB and 1.5 million died." WHO says, "205 000 child deaths due to TB (including among children with HIV)" Still a huge problem! I had no idea! I didn't expect to like this book as much as I did! I read it in just a few days. I found the stories of the discoveries very interesting, even tho I didn't always keep my characters quite straight. Real people doing pioneering work to battle this disease. Recommend!

[Debby Ng · Rating 5 out of 5]

Frank Ryan has a real knack for synthesizing and coalescing rich and convoluted histories into a captivating, informative and thrilling experience for readers. I enjoyed learning about the many characters that have played both prominent and hidden roles in this ongoing battle in restoring health for the masses.

[Elise · Rating 5 out of 5]

A scientific history rather than a social one. Very well-researched, author interviewed descendants of the scientists and sometimes the scientists themselves, if still living. And - as a molecular biology major - I would say the science is well-researched too.

[Joan · Rating 5 out of 5]

A must read for anyone interested in science, medicine or history.
Very well written. Frank Ryan is an astounding author.
This book brought back many memories of my early nursing days in the sixties. How far we have progressed, but will we ever win the battle over microbes?

[Daniel · Rating 4 out of 5]

Quite a good book, reads almost like a mystery novel and really keeps the reader engrossed. Read this to put in much better context the current fears about COVID.

[Anastasia Trent · Rating 5 out of 5]

Excellent history of TB up through the the early 90’s. History book that reads like a story.

[Tina Chandler · Rating 5 out of 5]

A continual complete story of those early scientists and the science of histology, bacteriology and pharmacology and the initial winning of a battle against Tb

[Leah K · Rating 4 out of 5]

The Forgotten Plague: How the Battle Against Tuberculosis was Won – and Lost by Frank Ryan M.D.

460 pages

★★★★

This is the story of tuberculosis – where it was believed to start, the race for a cure, the continuing prevalence of it, etc. I decided to read this book since my city was once a hotspot for sanatoriums, believed to a cure due to our “clean, fresh air”. And when I found out the museum I volunteer at was opening up a huge exhibit on how tuberculosis shaped our city, I figured it was a great time to pick this book up. Was it more information than I needed to know? Perhaps. But this girl loves going deep into such things.

I really enjoyed this book, more than I thought it would. While at some points it was almost bogged down with facts, it often read like a novel and I appreciated that. There were a lot of names and locations to keep track of and I just needed to remind myself to NOT read this book just as I was dozing off each night. Keeping everything straight could be a chore if I wasn’t focusing on it. There was so much I learned from reading The Forgotten Plague and it was one of those books I came away feeling much more educated on the subject. It was well researched, always a plus. The book was published in 1994, with writing occurring from 1989-1992 so I wouldn’t say the “current” section of this book was quite so current anymore (the fear of AIDS is quite prevalent as it was still fairly new during the writing). An updated chapter or two would have been nice but I guess I will have to use the awesome power of the internet and do my own research on that. Is this book for everyone? Certainly not. If you are big into the study of diseases, science, or history there are bits and pieces for you here. If you enjoy all three subjects? Then you might geek out on this book, just as I did.

[Catherine Austen · Rating 5 out of 5]

This book reads like a thriller. It`s the story of a fascinating disease and the many people throughout history who were affected by it and the search for a cure. Very well-written. Highly recommended.

[Debbie Stoufer · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is a fascinating book full of very human researchers struggling to combat the nearly unbeatable enemy TB. I haven't taken a science course in - let's just say a long time - and I had to look up some terminology, but it was like reading a thriller.

[Kathleen · Rating 4 out of 5]

How human politics and circumstances help create important medical
breakthroughs and how tuberculosis is such a long plague on mankind.

[Lisa Eirene · Rating 3 out of 5]

Quite interesting read. I didn't know a lot of this stuff so it was fun to learn about it. Also learning about the beginnings of Bayer, Merck, Sloane-Kettering and the Mayo Clinic.

[Judy · Rating 5 out of 5]

Ths history of trying to find treatment for tuberculosis is laid out in this extremely fascinating book. I am still convinced that, barring nuclear war, TB will be the killer of mankind.

[Susan]

Long ago. Only commen it "good"