The Deadly Truth: A History of Disease in America. By Gerald N. Grob. Cambridge, MA: Harvard University Press, 2002. Pp. 349. $35.00

Sheila Ryan Johansson

The Journal of Economic History, 2003, vol. 63, issue 1, 270-272

Abstract: Despite its somber title, The Deadly Truth is a very lively account of American disease history from prehistory to the present. So much research is summarized in this comparatively short book, that it becomes the best introduction to the subject currently available. The chapters are chronologically arranged; they focus on those diseases that have been leading causes of sickness or death over the last four centuries. Not surprisingly the epidemic and insect borne diseases receive the lion's share of attention; but the occupational diseases are given a chapter of their own. The chronic diseases, which dominate the twentieth century, are reviewed in chapter nine. The author's general conclusion is that although a certain amount of progress has undoubtedly occurred in the treatment and management of specific diseases, there will never be a “final victory” over disease and death. In the present context few would disagree.

Date: 2003
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