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Everything Is Tuberculosis

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Everything Is Tuberculosis
AuthorJohn Green
Cover artistGrace Han
LanguageEnglish
SubjectTuberculosis
PublisherCrash Course Books
Publication date
March 18, 2025
Media typePrint, audiobook
Pages208
ISBN978-0-525-42605-9
Websiteeverythingistb.com

Everything Is Tuberculosis: The History and Persistence of Our Deadliest Infection is a book by American author John Green about tuberculosis, a contagious disease usually caused by the bacteria Mycobacterium tuberculosis that is the leading cause of death from an infectious disease. The book argues that the disease is not primarily caused by the bacteria but by human choices. It was published on March 18, 2025 and is Green's second nonfiction book.

Background

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John Green in the Kissy Psychiatric Hospital (now known as Sierra Leone Psychiatric Hospital) in Freetown, Sierra Leone, in April 2019

John Green is an American young adult novelist who wrote the 2012 bestseller The Fault in Our Stars, which was later adapted into a 2014 film. He also hosts the YouTube channel Vlogbrothers which he started with his brother, Hank Green, in 2007. From that YouTube channel started the annual Project for Awesome charity event also in 2007, which supports Partners In Health, among other charities.[1][2] Following his last novel Turtles All the Way Down in 2017, Green described himself as "retired" from young adult fiction. He published a book of essays, The Anthropocene Reviewed, in 2021, which acted as a loose memoir.[2][3][4][5]

Green became interested in tuberculosis on a visit to Sierra Leone with Partners In Health in 2019, where he became aware that it was not "a problem of the past" but an ongoing global issue despite being curable. He spent several years engaging with experts and learning about the disease, speaking about it before the United Nations in 2023. That year, he also rallied his audience to petition Johnson & Johnson and Cepheid to ease access to the tuberculosis treatment bedaquiline and rapid diagnostic testing for multidrug-resistant tuberculosis, respectively, which both companies did.[2][1]

Summary and release

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Henry, a young tuberculosis patient profiled by Green in the book, shown at 16 (left) and four years later (right) after a new treatment regimen.

Green described the book as "a history of human responses to tuberculosis intertwined with a contemporary story of one person's experience", that person being Henry, a young tuberculosis patient Green met in 2019 in Sierra Leone who shares his son's name.[2][6][7] He announced the book's title, Everything Is Tuberculosis, on October 22, 2024.[8] The cover was designed by Grace Han, who also designed the cover for The Anthropocene Reviewed.[9][10]

It was officially released on March 18, 2025 through Crash Course Books, a new imprint of Penguin Young Readers that is an extension of the educational YouTube series Crash Course. The first run was announced to be 500,000 copies, of which Green signed 100,000.[11][12][2][8][13] Green also narrated the audiobook version.[12] Green went on a book tour in support of the book's release, starting in his hometown of Indianapolis.[14][11]

Reception

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The book was well received. Kirkus Reviews gave the book a starred review, saying, "This highly readable call to action could not be more timely."[15] Booklist and School Library Journal also gave the book starred reviews.[16][17] AP News reviewed the book, calling it "reflective and earnest [...] Little nuggets of personalization consistently bring us back to our shared humanity."[18] In an overall positive review, The AV Club stated that "while Green provides a great general analysis of why the disease tests our very humanity, it's easy to be left wanting more."[19] Library Journal called the book, "An interesting but scattered view of [tuberculosis]."[20] Rebecca Robbins writing for The New York Times stated that while "Green does an admirable job introducing readers to a disease they would otherwise be unlikely to learn about," she thought he was "frustratingly vague in assigning blame for the persistence of tuberculosis."[6]

References

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  1. ^ a b Bender, Maddie (October 30, 2024). "Can John Green Make You Care About Tuberculosis?". The New York Times. Retrieved January 28, 2025.
  2. ^ a b c d e Lindquist, Dave (February 2, 2024). "Author John Green's current chapter is focused on a healthier human race". Indiana Business Journal. Retrieved September 27, 2024.
  3. ^ Rebolini, Arianna. "Check Out The Cover Of John Green's Debut Essay Collection". BuzzFeed News. Archived from the original on March 16, 2021. Retrieved March 16, 2021.
  4. ^ Nelson, Samantha. "The Anthropocene Reviewed appraises everything from plagues to Dr Pepper". AV Club. Archived from the original on May 18, 2021. Retrieved May 18, 2021.
  5. ^ Tuttle, Kate. "Author John Green explores the human experience through five-star reviews – The Boston Globe". BostonGlobe.com. Archived from the original on May 17, 2021. Retrieved May 18, 2021.
  6. ^ a b Robbins, Rebecca (March 20, 2025). "Book Review: 'Everything Is Tuberculosis,' by John Green". Retrieved March 20, 2025.
  7. ^ Wiseman, Katie (March 18, 2025). "Indiana author John Green's new book, 'Everything is Tuberculosis,' is available now". The Courier-Journal. Retrieved March 19, 2025.
  8. ^ a b Tagen-Dye, Carly (October 22, 2024). "John Green to Publish New Nonfiction Book About Tuberculosis: 'Culmination of a Long Journey'". People. Retrieved October 22, 2024.
  9. ^ Green, John [@johngreen] (October 22, 2024). "My new book Everything is Tuberculosis is available for preorder NOW! Link in my bio. Cover by the great Grace Han" (Tweet). Retrieved October 25, 2024 – via Twitter.
  10. ^ Rebolini, Arianna (March 16, 2021). "Check Out The Cover Of John Green's Debut Essay Collection". BuzzFeed News. Retrieved October 25, 2024.
  11. ^ a b "Everything is Tuberculosis Book". John Green. Retrieved March 19, 2025.
  12. ^ a b Maher, John (October 22, 2024). "New Imprint, Crash Course Books, to Launch in March with John Green Title". PublishersWeekly.com. Retrieved March 19, 2025.
  13. ^ Wiseman, Katie (October 25, 2024). "'Everything is Tuberculosis,' John Green's latest title, available for preorder". The Indianapolis Star. Retrieved October 28, 2024.
  14. ^ Wiseman, Katie (March 17, 2025). "Indy author John Green's new book, 'Everything is Tuberculosis,' hits bookshelves Tuesday". The Indianapolis Star. Retrieved March 18, 2025.
  15. ^ "EVERYTHING IS TUBERCULOSIS | Kirkus Reviews". Kirkus Reviews. Retrieved March 18, 2025.
  16. ^ Buffi, Lisa (January 31, 2025). "Everything Is Tuberculosis: The History and Persistence of Our Deadliest Infection". School Library Journal. Retrieved March 19, 2025.
  17. ^ Cart, Michael. "Booklist Online: Leading Book Discovery". Booklistonline.com. Retrieved March 19, 2025.
  18. ^ Edwards, Donna (March 17, 2025). "Book Review: John Green is obsessed with tuberculosis. He makes a strong case that we should be, too". AP News. Retrieved March 18, 2025.
  19. ^ Nelson, Samantha (March 18, 2025). "John Green's Everything Is Tuberculosis is compelling enough that it should have been longer". AV Club. Retrieved March 18, 2025.
  20. ^ Bibel, Barbara M. (February 7, 2025). "Library Journal". Libraryjournal.com. Retrieved March 19, 2025.
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