'Captain of All these Men of Death': The History of Tuberculosis in Nineteenth and Twentieth Century Ireland

GRETA JONES, 'Captain of All these Men of Death': The History of Tuberculosis in Nineteenth and Twentieth Century Ireland. Wellcome Institute Series in the History of Medicine: Clio Medica, 62. Amsterdam and New York: Rodopi, 2001. Pp. ii + 263. ISBN 90-420-103 1-2. $22.50, euro24.00 (paperback).

DOI: 10.1017/50007087404356177

Taking inspiration from recent national histories of tuberculosis, Greta Jones seeks to outline the contributions of social conditions and public health measures in the eventual control of the TB epidemic in Ireland. This epidemic continued long after that in Great Britain. The book covers a period in Irish history which includes important political developments such as the 1916 Easter Rising, the civil war, partition, the establishment of the Free State and, finally, the Republic.

The first section focuses on the epidemic itself, demonstrating the rise in TB mortality beginning in 1890 and exploring possible causes such as factory conditions, migration and...