Review: Everything Is Tuberculosis, by John Green
Author: John Green
Publisher: Crash Course Books
Genre: Nonfiction/Health
Date of Publication: March 18th 2025
Summary
Tuberculosis has been entwined with humanity for millennia. Once romanticized as a malady of poets, today tuberculosis is a disease of poverty that walks the trails of injustice and inequity we blazed for it.
In 2019, John Green met Henry, a young tuberculosis patient at Lakka Government Hospital in Sierra Leone while traveling with Partners in Health. John became fast friends with Henry, a boy with spindly legs and a big, goofy smile. In the years since that first visit to Lakka, Green has become a vocal and dynamic advocate for increased access to treatment and wider awareness of the healthcare inequities that allow this curable, treatable infectious disease to also be the deadliest, killing 1.5 million people every year.
In Everything is Tuberculosis, John tells Henry’s story, woven through with the scientific and social histories of how tuberculosis has shaped our world and how our choices will shape the future of tuberculosis.
Review - Is Everything Tuberculosis?
This year I have committed to reading more nonfiction, and as I've mentioned in my beginner-friendly nonfiction post, I'm interested in health-related topics. So, the timing of the release of Everything Is Tuberculosis couldn't be more ideal. And on top of that, it's written by John Green, who is someone I follow since adolescence.
Even though the topic sounds intimidating, the length of the book makes it easy to pick it up, at least to try it out. Everything Is Tuberculosis is a short book, just 200 pages (or 5 hours and 35 minutes as an audiobook). Plus, the writing style is very easy to follow, making it a great starting point on this subject.
In this book, John Green talks about tuberculosis, its historical presence, how it has evolved over the centuries (as well as our perception of it), and the process of finding a cure. Throughout the chapters, we get some stats that show how TB continues to be a serious issue, inflicting millions of people each year. However, what makes it so compelling is that he shows us how the illness affects people through the story of Henry. By giving a face to the statistics, it gets easier for us to understand the actual effects TB has on real people and bring awareness.
In addition to this, the author touches some serious issues in Everything Is Tuberculosis. The stigma of the disease, the effects of colonization and capitalism, the inequality in healthcare in countries of the global south are some of them. And the story of Henry really makes a point on all of these.
Nevertheless, we should address the fact that John Green is neither a historian nor a medical professional. He is clearly passionate about the topic, and it really shows. But this book is a great and easy introduction to the topic - if you were expecting something more thorough, then you will be disappointed. If you wish to dig deeper and learn more about TB, you should search for other books written be experts in the field or people who have fought the disease. Fortunately, there is a "further reading" section at the end of the book with plenty of recommendations.
All in all, I really enjoyed Everything Is Tuberculosis. It wasn't that eye-opening for me since I've heard of some of the issues before, but it wasn't a waste of time either. If you've never looked into medical inequalities, this book will definitely show you how they affect millions of people worldwide.
Read more of my reviews here.
What a heartfelt and beautifully written post! Your reflections are so genuine and thought-provoking—they really resonate with the emotions many of us feel but often struggle to put into words. I love how you connected personal insights with broader themes in such a seamless way. It's clear that you poured a lot of care and thought into this piece, and it truly shows. Thank you for sharing something so meaningful—it left me reflecting on my own experiences in a new light.
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